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THE HORACE MANN PLAN JTC
HORACE MANN SCHOOL, TEACHERS "dbLLfe^E,* *COl!tI3S&IA tlNlVERSITY
EDITORS
ROLLO G. REYNOLDS
Principal
MARY HARDEN
Director of Curriculum
AT THE LIBRARY TABLE
THE
KI NDERGARTN
FOR FIVE-TEAR-OLD
CHILDREN
by
CHARLOTTE GANG GARRISON, A.M.
Assistant Principal of Kindergarten
EMMA DIGKSON SHEEHY, A.M.
Teacher in Kindergarten
ALICE DALGLIESH, A.M.
Formerly Teacher in Kindergarten
Bureau of Publications
College Coltttrtbfa
New Tork:
TEACHERS COLLEGE
Printed in the United States of America
MANUFACTURED BY THE HADDON CRAFTSMEN, INC.
CAMDEN, N. J.
uou>; j w; j
EDITORS' FOREWORD
FOR several years the Horace Mann School of Teachers Col-
lege, Columbia University, has been engaged in building a
Plan for Teaching Children.* In developing this Plan the
Staff of the School has had in mind first the needs of its own
children in relation to the environment in which they live.
Because of the unique relationship of the School to Teachers
College it has the added responsibility of demonstrating
sound educational theory. In line with this latter responsi-
bility its aim is to publish the experiences which the School
has found profitable, and which with proper adaptation may
aid other schools in developing and improving their plans
for teaching children.
It seems particularly appropriate at this time, the one hun-
dredth anniversary of the kindergarten movement and the
fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Horace Mann
School, to present this volume.
In the Horace Mann School the Kindergarten is an in-
tegral part of the educational program. As much care is
taken to provide for the distinctive characteristics, abilities,
limitations, and interests of the Kindergarten children
* Described in the pamphlet: Reynolds, Rollo G. and Harden, Mary,
The Horace Mann Plan for Teaching Children. Bureau of Publications,
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1932.
VI EDITORS FOREWORD
as In planning and organizing distinctive experiences for
older children. Our Kindergarten groups have their own es-
sential subject matter, organization, and provision for de-
velopment and progression. The authors in this book have
set forth the experiences which have proved educationally
worth while for children of the five-year-old age level.
We believe that the philosophy behind the plan for teach-
ing children of this age as presented here is sound, modern,
and forward-looking and that it should prove helpful to those
who are interested in this important area of education.
If this volume helps in any way to bring better educa-
tional opportunities to young children its purpose has been
achieved.
R. G. R.
M. H.
INTRODUCTION
THIS curriculum study for five-year-old kindergarten chil-
dren is the direct outgrowth of the research and demonstra-
tion which has characterized the Horace Mann School for
many years. It presents experimental procedures tested by
highly trained teachers, the test being always the degree to
which the new practice meets the nature and needs of
young children.
The Horace Mann Kindergarten has a history of more
than fifty years of teaching and experimentation. It was
founded during an epoch-making period in kindergarten
education, and at first served the purpose both of an
experimental school and of a demonstration school. Gradu-
ally a new, more scientific type of research found its way
into the nursery school and kindergarten as into all other
branches of education. This more highly scientific mode of
research frequently brought in its train the necessity for
setting up controlled situations in which contrasting types
of teaching, or what-not, were subjected to rigid investiga-
tion, the findings being statistically rated. Although this
procedure may have led to more positive and dependable
knowledge than the previous experiments, a question arose
whether such young, immature children should be made
the subject of study by strange investigators in unfamiliar
vili INTRODUCTION
surroundings. The classroom teachers were inclined to doubt
the value of findings recorded under artificial or abnormal
conditions and secured at the cost of the children studied.
This problem led to the preparation of classroom teachers,
especially those in demonstration or experimental schools,
for more intelligent participation in scientific research.
By studying under research specialists, they brought into the
field of early childhood education a body of classroom
teachers who could not be accused of either ignorance or
prejudice when protesting against programs of research sug-
gested by experts who might justly be considered more inter-
ested in scientific discovery than in the welfare of the young
children under investigation.
Such problems bring us face to face with the need for
decisions regarding the real function of both demonstration
and experimental schools. What are the first duties of the
directors and the classroom teachers? The twofold respon-
sibility for furthering research and for protecting and de-
veloping children requires co-operative thinking, if the find-
ings of investigators are to have value when transferred to
the normal everyday situations in home and school.
Many different types of research have been given a place
in the Horace Mann Kindergarten, but the teachers in
charge, while carrying forward their own experiments, have
protected the children when sensing danger from any form
of research which they considered disturbing to the normal
growth of the children in their care.
Thus the findings and conclusions as to kindergarten con-
tent and technique which the authors of this volume present
are based upon studies of hundreds of little children, made
by highly trained classroom teachers observing, participating
INTRODUCTION ix
in, and directing the activities of everyday life in the familiar
surroundings of the classroom and the playground.
Each day's experiences as remembered or recorded have
been studied as the basis for the plans for tomorrow, in order
to preserve continuity of growth in child life. Each teacher
has endeavored to profit not only by her own experiences
of yesterday, today, and last year, but also by those of her
co-workers in the grades above and below, as these are com-
pared in study conferences held for this purpose.
Research specialists have been called in from time to time
for consultation or criticism, but these experiments, con-
ducted for more than a quarter of a century, have been
planned and executed either by the classroom teachers them-
selves, or in co-operation with the faculty of the Depart-
ment of Nursery School and Kindergarten-First Grade
Education.
In presenting this curriculum study of the Horace Mann
Kindergarten, I feel impelled to add a word about the kin-
dergarten teacher. No curriculum, however refined its sub-
ject matter and suggested methods, can ever be better than
the teacher who translates it into classroom practice.
One conclusion that we one and all agree upon is that
little children need to be loved and enjoyed as well as
studied and investigated. We believe that wise sympathetic
affection, free from sentimentality in any form, may stimulate
a confidence which in turn may bring to the surface spon-
taneous expressions of thought and feeling hidden from an
impersonal or unsympathetic adult.
There are teachers today who can sense, almost before a
child has crossed the threshold of the kindergarten, that
some experience is in his mind, trivial indeed to the adult
X INTRODUCTION
but weighty to him, which is in need of recognition. With
a quick glance she perceives that Billy has on a pair o new
shoes, and hopes that his teachers and the other children
will take notice of these recently acquired possessions.
What is the secret of such a teacher's ability and power?
Who can fathom or explain the pedagogical technique by
which this art is perfected?
With the best training in research, there still seems to be
a need for some "plus" quality call it maternal instinct,
intuition, or insight in a teacher who masters the art as well
as the science of teaching.
Those of us on the faculty of Teachers College who have
worked with these our colleagues in the Horace Mann class-
rooms for many years feel a debt of gratitude to them for
their unfailing loyalty to the children, to the parents, and
to the students of Teachers College with whom they have
shared the rich experiences which they have garnered from
daily association with little children.
PATTY SMITH HILL
Professor Emeritus
of Education
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction by PATTY SMITH HILL vii
PART I. THE CHILD AND THE ENVIRONMENT
I. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN MAKING A PLAN FOR
TEACHING 3
II. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD 7
III. THE ENVIRONMENT 12
The School Situation 12
The Wider Environment 17
IV. GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE KINDERGARTEN 19
Plan of Kindergarten Room during Work Period 23
Suggestive Time Schedule 24
Organization of the Group 26
PART II. THE CURRICULUM
V. SOCIAL SCIENCE 29
Experiences in Social Relationships 30
Excursions 46
Holidays and Festivals 49
Health and Hygiene 52
Xll CONTENTS
VI. NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES 56
Natural Science 56
Physical Science 61
VII. CREATIVE ARTS 63
Language and Literature 66
Music 78
Dramatic Play and Games 91
VIII. MATERIALS USED IN THE KINDERGARTEN 105
Physical Apparatus 105
Materials for Manipulative Activities and
Dramatic Play 106
Materials for Art Activities 109
Materials for Woodwork 115
IX. INFORMAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE TOOL SUBJECTS 117
Reading, Writing., and Spelling 117
Arithmetic 119
Desired Outcomes 121
PART III. THE HOME AND THE SCHOOL
X. HOME AND SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS 125
Records 125
Co-operation between Parents and Teachers 127
XL USING THE SPECIFIC SITUATION 130
APPENDIX
Records Used in the Kindergarten 135
Bibliography
PART I
THE CHILD
AND
THE ENVIRONMENT
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN MAKING
A PLAN FOR TEACHING
THIS working plan for the teaching of children is based on
records of the actual experiences and activities of children
in the Five-Year-Old Kindergarten of the Horace Mann
School. The development and characteristics of this teaching
plan are discussed in the following paragraphs.
In making any plan for teaching we must consider the
facts of child development, the interests of children of a
given age, the individual interests of each child in the group,
the educational possibilities of the environment, accepted
social values, and the relation of the child to the present
social order. This implies that first we must know the child
himself his interests and developmental needs, and how to
meet them. We must know how to relate these interests and
needs to the child's environment and how to arrange and
use the environment so that it will provide for the best pos-
sible growth. We must know what educational procedures
and subject matter have been generally accepted by society
as valuable. Then, too, we must realize that the present-day
curriculum can no longer consider the child mainly as an
individual; it must also consider him as a member of a
group, a part of a closely integrated society.
To make a functioning plan for teaching, the teacher
should herself have an understanding of social conditions as
3
4 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
they are, as well as some ability to plan constructively for the
future. She must have a wide range of interests as well as
the knowledge of how to get needed information. A sense
of values is important, for she must constantly discriminate
between experiences that have rich possibilities for child
development and those with fewer opportunities for growth.
What Is Included in This Teaching Plan?
This teaching plan is made up of experiences valuable for
children. These experiences are determined by the teacher's
knowledge and understanding of the fundamental factors in
the child's development together with her awareness of the
significant and valuable possibilities in the immediate en-
vironment. Out of these experiences grow the varied types
of subject matter that we have been accustomed to find in
school curricula. The teacher should be aware of potential
subject matter and for this reason it seems advisable to check
the content of an activity in terms of accepted divisions of
subject matter such as literature, music, art, science, and
social science. No such divisions exist, however, in the actual
working out of activities. They exist only in the conscious-
ness of the teacher and in her written records. Although this
potential subject matter is inherent in the activity program
the teacher after all is primarily concerned with the develop-
ment of the children's right social relationships and attitudes.
How Flexible Is This Plan?
Any plan for teaching must be merely suggestive and
should be changed or modified at any time to fit developing
interests and conditions. There should be no hard and fast
rule as to which activities are most valuable or which are to
A PLAN FOR TEACHERS 5
take place at a given time. We know that certain typical in-
terests are likely to occur each year because of the social and
natural environment in which we live. But other interests o
equal value may unexpectedly arise and should be considered.
How Do Interests Originate?
Many interests are originated by the children themselves.
These interests are stimulated by the environmental set-up
of the kindergarten and by experiences the children have
had and are having. If the activities initiated by the children
seem too limited, the teacher does not hesitate to suggest
activities that she believes to be valuable. The teacher's plan,
however, is of value only in so far as the children make it
their own purpose.
How Are Interests Selected for Further Development
Out of the many interests that arise the teacher must help
the children select those which seem to have the greatest pos-
sibilities and which are most valuable both for the individual
and for the group.
How Far Is a Balance Kept Between Individual and Group
Activities?
With young children the maintaining of a balance be-
tween individual and group activities is most important, for
they are still largely individual. They should be enctniraged
to take part in group activities, bm not forced into them.
In this teaching plan we have purposely avoided the phrase
"unit of work/* which seems, as generally used, to imply a
group interest too complete and too closely integrated for
kindergarten children. Quite often a brief, fragmentary,
6 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
group interest holds more possibilities for social develop-
ment than a larger and more closely integrated one.
How Do We Check on the Growth of the Children?
Two types of records are kept which supplement each
other and provide a continuous check in regard to the
growth of the children.
1. Records of individual progress. The individual record in-
cludes reports of (a) the teacher's impressions gained
from constant observation and study of the child; (b) the
understanding gained by consultation with other mem-
bers of the teaching staff; (c) information obtained by
means of frequent conferences with the parents; (d) help
gained from conferences with specialists, as in the case of
a speech difficulty, a physical handicap, or an emotional
difficulty; and (e) records of the child's development in
different phases of subject matter.
2. Records of group progress. These records have to do with
the experiences of the kindergarten as a whole. They are
used in evaluating the general program.
Examples of forms used are shown on pages 135 to 143.
To summarize, it is desirable that the teacher know as
much as possible about the facts of child development and
about .each individual child with whom she is . working;
contribute to. the situation through her own cultural back-
ground and personality; select materials conducive to. the
children's growth; arrange the environment so that it will
supply the best condition for growth, introducing new ma-
terials when fresh stimulus is needed; supply wise guidance
of activities; and evaluate activities. ...
II
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD
CHILD
THE teaching plan of the Five-Year-Old Kindergarten has
developed out of the special characteristics and needs of chil-
dren of this age. The organization throughout is adapted to
their physical, mental, social,, and emotional make-up.
Since the five-year-old child is outstandingly active, the
Kindergarten provides through its organization and equip-
ment much opportunity for free bodily activity. Apparatus
such as the Climb-around and the Jungle Gym gives oppor-
tunity for all-round vigorous play.
At this age some parts of the body are less developed than
others. The abdomen is prominent, the spinal column weak.
There is a tendency to pronate in walking. Certain activities
and materials are planned for these special developmental
needs. For example, playing animals (walking on all fours)
strengthens the muscles of the back and abdomen. Use of the
walking board helps to correct a tendency to pronate.
At five years, the large fundamental muscles are fairly de-
veloped but muscular ability to make fine co-ordinations .Is
still lacking. Accordingly, materials are provided and activi-
ties planned which give opportunity for using the large
muscles. Woodwork is an excellent example of an activity
which promotes muscular development.
Along with the child's tendency toward vigorous bodily
7
8 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
activity comes the need for protection against fatigue. Chil-
dren of this age tire easily and should have short periods of
rest following periods of activity. The kindergarten morn-
ing is planned with this in mind. One of the most important
periods in the morning is the rest period, during which the
children relax on rugs on the floor.
The rapid growth of the body at this age makes the
child's diet of great importance. This fact is emphasized with
the parents. Certain foods (carrots, spinach, peas, etc.) are
made attractive to the children by being cooked and eaten
in school. The teachers co-operate with the parents in many
ways in helping to overcome food difficulties.
Because of their emotional immaturity five-year-old chil-
dren need a simple, wholesome environment which will not
unduly stimulate them or make too heavy demands upon
their self-control. In the environmental set-up and organi-
zation of the Kindergarten this fact is given recognition;
the curriculum is rich in content but there is a definite
effort to keep activities simple. A great deal depends on pa-
rental co-operation with the school in keeping home expe-
riences also as simple as possible.
Although children of this age have built up certain nec-
essary inhibitions, it is difficult for them to exercise restraint.
It is therefore wise to emphasize only those inhibitions which
are necessary to the general welfare of the individual and
the group. In the Kindergarten an effort is made to control
situations in such a way that the children will not be ex-
pected to exercise restraint beyond their capability. For in-
stance, groups playing certain games or using any one piece
of equipment are purposely kept small so that no child will
need to wait too long for his turn.
WALKING ON "ALL-FOURS" STRENGTHENS THE MUSCLES
THE CLIMB-AROUND
GIVES OPPORTUNITY
FOR VIGOROUS PLAY
WOODWORK IS GOOD FUN AND GOOD EXERCISE
TAKING TIME TO REST DURING A BUSY MORNING
THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD 9
Five-year-old children, although becoming interested in
informal social organization, are still largely individual.
There is a strong feeling of personal possession and most of
the social problems which arise center around sharing play-
things and showing consideration for the rights of others.
In order to provide for this characteristic, the Kindergarten
makes available many materials which give opportunity for
individual play, as well as those which encourage group play.
Another well-defined characteristic of the child of this age
is the tendency to reproduce in play the activities of life
about him. In playing house, for example, the children enjoy
dramatizing many of the activities they have observed car-
ried on in their homes.
The kindergarten child's interest span, though steadily
lengthening, is still short. Activities, therefore, are of care-
fully graded duration. The informal organization of the
Kindergarten gives opportunity for individual adjustment.
Any activity is carried on only so long as the child's interest
is sustained. Children like to repeat an activity, and inter-
ests often recur at intervals. Repetition is educational in so
far as it involves growth.
Children are both destructive and constructive in their
play: these are two aspects of the same impulse. Bertrand
Russell says: "Construction and destruction alike satisfy the
will to power, but construction is more difficult as a rule,
and therefore gives more satisfaction to the person who
achieves it. ... Destruction being easier, a child's games
usually begin with it, and only pass on to construction at a
later stage/' 1
1 Bertrand Russell, Education and the Good Life* pp. 137-138. Boni and
Liveright, New York, 1926.
10 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
With five-year-old children who have had the right type
of home and school experience, the period of physical de-
struction should largely have passed. The tendency to build
up and produce rather than to destroy is encouraged on both
the physical and the intellectual plane. The latter, involv-
ing the idea of purposeful construction, is naturally much
more difficult to develop than the former.
Children of this age are curious and they like to investigate
and experiment. Materials are therefore provided which
offer opportunity for experimentation and investigation.
Questions which show a desire for information are given
careful and thoughtful attention and materials and situa-
tions are provided that will help the children to answer
their own questions. Excursions, conversations, books, ac-
tivities all are used for this purpose.
The children are most eager for information, but care is
taken that the information provided will be within the
limits of a child's interests. Children differ widely in their
ability to absorb and use information, and opportunity is
given for each child to progress at his own rate of speed.
Although authorities differ with regard to the amount of
reasoning done by a five-year-old child, the consensus of
opinion is that the reasoning of children is the same as that
of adults, with the exception that the child has less experi-
ence to guide him in forming conclusions. Thorndike says:
"Very young children not only possess the requisite ele-
mentary mental processes involved in reasoning, but also the
interest in reasoning, but we nip it in the bud by neglect-
ing their questions, making them accept mere words as ex-
planations, by teaching them to accept everything on au-
thority." 2
*JEdward Lee Thorndike, Notes on Child Study, p. 101.
THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD 11
The informal organization of the Kindergarten and the
type of experience provided present many opportunities for
the development of reasoning. As has been stated, questions
are never neglected, whenever possible explanations are
made by the use of the children's actual experience, and the
children are helped to develop simple generalizations and
to work out their own solutions to problems, including prob-
lems of social adjustment. In their use of materials the chil-
dren show a growing ability to plan, to carry their purposes
through, and to judge the results.
Ill
THE ENVIRONMENT
BY THE term "environment" we mean the total situation
which influences the development o the children in the
Five-Year-Old Kindergarten. This consists of the kinder-
garten room and the playground, with their definitely
planned equipment; the home situation, which influences
all phases of the children's activity; the college, of which
the school is a part, with its opportunities for experience;
the neighborhood; and the city itself. An inventory of the
possibilities of this environment will give some idea of what
it offers for child development.
THE SCHOOL SITUATION
The space provided for the Kindergarten includes a large,
well-ventilated, sunny kindergarten room with a smaller
room adjoining; a cloakroom with individual lockers for
wraps, low washbasins, and small toilets; partial use of a
playground with a garden; and a roof playground with a
shelter.
In selecting the equipment for the Kindergarten the facts
of child development were kept in mind. The furniture,
play apparatus, and other materials that have been provided
are those which seem most suitable for the use of five-year-
old children.
12
THE ENVIRONMENT lg
Furniture and Permanent Equipment
The pieces of furniture and equipment intended for the
personal use of the children include tables, chairs, a book-
case, low closets for materials, lockers, and a drinking foun-
tain. The tables and chairs have been selected with ref-
erence both to the height of the children and to correct
posture. The closets are so designed that the children can
easily take out and put away materials. Cloakroom lockers
ire provided as well as lockers for the children's personal
)elongings, such as smocks, dancing slippers, crayons, and
hings they may bring from home. Each locker is marked
vith a child's name printed in large capital letters. Adhesive
ape is used for marking lockers. The children's smocks, slip-
>ers, and crayon boxes are also marked with their names.
The bookcase, a library table, and chairs are placed in a
lunny corner of the room. Other permanent equipment in-
iudes a grand piano, and bulletin boards for pictures.
Apparatus for Physical Activity
City and apartment-house living conditions make it par-
icularly important for the Kindergarten to furnish much
Dpportunity for vigorous physical activity. Apparatus placed
in the kindergarten room to encourage such activity includes
i Jungle Gym, a Hi-lo Gym, swinging rope ladders, and a
walking board.
Materials for Constructive Activity
Among the materials for constructive activity are clay,
paints, wood, cloth, and paper, as well as the permanent
playthings such as blocks, dolls* and doll furniture.
14 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
Blocks. Several types of blocks are provided, including the
Project Play Blocks and the Hill Floor Blocks.
The set of Project Play Blocks is satisfactory because it in-
cludes blocks of many different shapes and sizes, and so has
infinite possibilities for building. Besides the typical block
forms, such as the rectangle 12" by 6", square and round
pillars, and large bricks, there are flat curved blocks for
doorways, and blocks especially designed for making rail-
road switches.
The Hill Floor Blocks provide for building on a large
scale. They consist of blocks of several lengths which fit into
grooved pillars, held together by iron bolts. With these
blocks houses, boats, and trains can be made large enough
for a number of children to get inside. As special interests
arise, playthings are provided for use with the blocks. These
include toy people, trees, animals, trains, boats, and auto-
mobiles. Wooden toys are usually found to be the most satis-
factory.
Sandbox. A large zinc-lined sandbox, the right height for
the children to use standing, is provided. The cover of this
box is made in sections to facilitate handling. Toys such as
pails, shovels, and molds are provided at the beginning of
the year. Trees, houses, people, animals, boats, and other
materials which suggest dramatic play are added as the need
for them becomes apparent.
Dolls and Doll Drama Material. Dolls and doll playthings
provide a center for dramatic play and give numerous op-
portunities for social adjustments.
The best type of doll is one that is durable and washable.
The doll clothes are made with large armholes and large
fastenings of various kinds so that the clothes can be easily
THE ENVIRONMENT 15
put on and taken off. The material is chosen for its attrac-
tiveness and durability. The Chase Stockingette Doll is ex-
cellent for kindergarten use.
Strong, simple wooden doll furniture is provided; also un-
breakable dishes and a few necessary accessories for doll
play.
In addition to the doll furniture there is a larger set
of furniture with which the children themselves can play
house.
Housekeeping Materials. Materials for playing at house-
keeping include washing and ironing equipment which con-
sists of washboard and tub, bench, clothes-basket, clothes-
lines and pins, adjustable ironing board, and a small electric
iron.
Cooking utensils and a small electric stove are popular
with the children.
Dustpans, mops, and brooms are also provided and are
used both in actual housekeeping and in dramatic play.
Materials and Tools for Fine and Industrial Arts
Fine and industrial arts materials give opportunity for
much original creative work. They include: modeling clay
and clay-boards, paste and paste brushes, crayons, scissors
(blunt) , manila drawing paper, easel, poster paints, news-
print (unprinted newspaper) , and Japanese brushes of the
largest size.
Textiles. Sewing, weaving, and other work with textiles
require the following: sewing materials (colored cambric
and other suitable fabrics, pins, large-eyed needles, strong
thread San-Silk in various colors; cotton roving in a vari-
ety of colors, and cotton batting.
l6 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
Woodwork. A carpenter's bench, 24 inches high, is pro-
vided, also large clamps for attaching wood to work tables.
Tools needed for woodwork are: well-balanced hammers,
medium weight; small cross-cut saws of good quality; brace
and bits; screwdriver; rulers; and T-square.
Materials for woodwork include nails (flat-head wire
nails, in several sizes) ; wood (white pine i/% inch thick, cut
in various widths and sizes, wheels, axles) ; button molds
(for wheels) ; tin roofing caps (for holding wheels in place) ;
leather (for hinges) .
Paper. A variety of poster, construction, and crepe paper
in attractive colors is also provided.
Natural and Physical Science Materials
Interests in nature and science call for various kinds of
equipment and materials. Among these are an aquarium and
fish, and several cages of different sizes to house visiting pets
such as rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, frogs, and turtles.
For gardening activities there are plants, bulbs for out-
door and indoor planting, seeds for outdoor and indoor
planting, garden tools (spades, trowels, watering can, rakes,
and Japanese bamboo rakes for raking leaves) . Bowls, vases,
and insets are also provided.
Special science materials include magnifying glass, hour-
glass, large magnet, and large thermometer.
Other Materials Leading to Purposeful Activity
Other materials with which the children like to experi-
ment are wooden alphabet letters, small colored blocks, sim-
ple puzzles, colored tiles, printing sets (alphabet, num-
bers, and animal pictures) , typewriter, and scales.
THE ENVIRONMENT 1 7
Books and Pictures
A collection of story and picture books and an assortment
of pictures and posters suitable for various interests and
seasons are provided.
Equipment of Outdoor Roof and Playground
The outdoor play space consists of a tiled playground of
moderate size and a small garden, and a tiled roof with ade-
quate wire-fencing protection and adjoining shelter.
The playground equipment consists of a ground sandbox
with sand toys, and the following apparatus for physical ac-
tivity: slide, swing, horizontal ladder, seesaw, walking boards
of different widths, packing boxes, bricks, balls, ropes, Climb-
around, and wagons.
The roof equipment includes: swings, packing boxes, see-
saw, walking beams, tricycles, wagons, dolls and doll carriage,
blocks, and miscellaneous toys.
For further discussion of materials used in the Kinder-
garten and their creative use see "Materials Used in the
Kindergarten/' pages 105 to 116.
THE WIDER ENVIRONMENT
The Home
The enrollment of the Kindergarten includes children of
the university staff, children whose parents have come to the
university for further study, either from foreign countries
or from various parts of the United States, a small percentage
of foreign children such as Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Ger-
man, French, and children living in New York whose par-
ents have professional or business intetests.
l8 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
Many of the children in the Five-Year-Old Kindergarten
have had previous group or school experiences. Each year
about twenty of the group come from the Horace Mann
Four-Year-Old Kindergarten. Others come from outside
groups. A few have had nursery school experience.
The home environment of these children, wide and varied
as it is, is definitely reflected in the children's activities in the
Kindergarten. A naturally rich curriculum is the inevitable
outcome o such a variety of backgrounds. The very fact
that American children are living in daily contact with chil-
dren from foreign countries makes for the sympathetic un-
derstanding which is the basis of internationalism.
The Immediate Neighborhood
As the Kindergarten is situated in the main building of
Teachers College, the college and university setting gives
unusually fine opportunities for experiences. Many excur-
sions may be taken within the university itself. The chil-
dren visit the libraries, the departments of science and art,
and other places of interest.
The City
As the immediate environment is rich in possibilities for
experiences and as it is wise to avoid overstimulating the
children, only a few carefully selected excursions are made
to other parts of the city. When a special interest arises the
children are taken in small groups on an excursion that
seems best to clarify that experience (see Excursions, pages
46 to 49) .
IV
GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE
KINDERGARTEN
As THE child of five to six years is both individual and social,
the school situation must provide for both of these charac-
teristics. It must give opportunity for individual expression
as well as for experience in group activities, and it must
provide opportunity for growth in group feeling and the
gradual development of organization in which the children
play an intelligent, co-operative part.
The casual visitor who enters the kindergarten room
often asks whether there is any definite organization or
whether the children are "doing as they please." This ques-
tion is asked because the children are moving about freely,
working individually or in informal groups, talking to one
another, and planning their own activities. In reality a very
definite organization is present in the consciousness both of
the teachers and of the children. Each member of the group
'has certain definite responsibilities. On the part of the
teacher these responsibilities are:
1. To^plan the environment carefully so tjiat it will be filled
with suggestions as to worth-while activities.
2. To watch the reactions of the children in this environ-
ment and to decide when to give suggestions, guidance,
help, and information, when to stimulate interest, and
19
2O CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
when to introduce new material. The teacher must be
able to do all this without taking away a child's feeling of
independence or his desire to experiment. One of the
teacher's most subtle responsibilities is deciding when it
is wise for her to participate in the children's activity
by giving advice and assistance, and when it is her re-
sponsibility to let the children work things out for them-
selves.
3. To be responsible for the growth of organization. The
rules are not ready-made or teacher-imposed. They grow
out of experiences and needs and are made by the chil-
dren with the help of the teacher. Problems of organi-
zation are met as they arise. In situations where gaining
information through experience would be too costly, as
in the case of health and safety (crossing streets, using
apparatus safely, etc.) , the teacher, because of her greater
experience and maturity, may suggest the need of a rule,
always talking over with the children the reasons for it.
Organization that is worked out by the children them-
selves is appreciated by them.
The children have their own responsibilities. In using
materials they must learn to show respect for the materials
themselves and for the rights and satisfactions of other chil-
dren. As working members of a group they should be doing
something constructive. A child may at one time be playing
individually, at another time in a group; at one time he may
be a leader, at another time a contributing member of a
group.
Children need to respect themselves, respect other mem-
bers of the group, and recognize the teacher's place in the
WORKING ALONE
PLAYING TOGETHER
GROUP WORK CONSTRUCTING WITH A PURPOSE
THE MID-MORNING LUNCH MILK AND ORANGE JUICE
THE ORGANIZATION 21
organization. Each child should grow in the realization that
there are certain habits of social living which make him a
more valuable and desirable member of a group. These in-
clude habits of order such as taking care of his own belong-
ings, being responsible for putting away materials, using
materials without waste, and walking in school halls; also
certain health habits such as covering cough and sneeze,
keeping hands out of mouth, keeping hands off food. In ad-
dition, he must develop desirable habits in regard to his
relationship with other children, and with adults. All these
habits and attitudes are built up slowly and informally and
lead to organization. The teacher at all times uses her dis-
cretion as to the amount of responsibility the children should
carry, ever realizing that there are times when she herself
must assume the entire responsibility.
Now comes the question of what happens when the indi-
vidual does not conform to this natural, logical, informal,
and childlike organization. In many cases negative behavior
is taken care of by the other children, who express disap-
proval or temporarily outlaw the offending member. Some-
times the teacher is called on by the children to help them
work out the situation. Again, it may be necessary for the
teacher to take the matter into her own hands. In almost
every case of negative behavior temporary removal from
the group in order to get better perspective on the situation,
and return to the group for another trial is all that is neces-
sary. Wholesome approbation of constructive behavior, from
teacher and children, is a large factor in the development
of good habits of social living. The most important part of
constructive discipline is seeing that a child who has had to
be punished for some misdemeanor receives definite approval
22 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
when, confronted with the same situation, he refrains from
similar action. The fact that children are individual at this
age makes them impersonal in their contacts with other chil-
dren, and emphasis must be laid on a friendly and con-
structive attitude toward others. The average child responds
to what is expected of him. This places great responsibility
I Firepg-aoe j
Play Corner
Project
Play
Blocks
Piano
Hl-Lo Gym
Hill Floor Blocks
Project Play Blocks
Work Bench
Play Corner
Doll Corner
Hi-Io Gym
Jungle Gym
Piano
Tables
Easel
Library Table
DIAGRAM I
4 children building crude house
3 children building garage
5 children working individually
4 children playing house
3 children playing house
2 children climbing 1
5 children climbing
1 child playing
10 children drawing, etc.
2 children painting
3 children using books
on the teacher to expect the right conduct and attitudes but
not to expect more than is possible for children of this age
to do.
THE ORGANIZATION 2g
PLAN OF KINDERGARTEN ROOM DURING WORK PERIOD
Diagram i illustrates a possible distribution of children
during a work period in which there is no specially central-
ized interest. Some of the materials in use may hold the chil-
dren's interest through the entire period, but in other cases
the children may change about from one activity to another.
i fiyeolaee I
Play Comer
Projeot
Play
Elocis
Hi-L Gym
Boat (Hill Blocks)
Workbench
Tables
Easel
Jungle Gym
Blocks (Project Play)
Library Table
DIAGRAM II
10 children finishing boat
6 children making anchor, gangplank, lifeboats
2 children making life preservers
8 children making sailor hats
4 children painting smokestacks
2 children making flags for boat
2 children painting name for boat
2 children climbing jungle gym
3 children oblivious of boat
2 children looking at pictures of boats
Diagram 2 illustrates a possible distribution of children
during a highly centralized interest, the building of the
"Queen Mary." This interest was unusually centralized, tak-
24 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
ing in almost all the children, in a manner more typical of
first grade than of kindergarten. The organization illustrated
was made possible by the fact that this was a mature group.
These two plans merely indicate types of grouping which
may occur. At the beginning of the year there is usually no
central interest, the work being almost entirely individual,
with a few children working in groups. By the end of the
year there is considerably more group organization, though
seldom an interest which includes all the children.
SUGGESTIVE TIME SCHEDULE
It is necessary to have some general divisions of time, but
any time schedule should be subject to change. A schedule
elastic in regard to time but consistent with respect to se-
quence provides for conformity of growth. The following is
a suggestive one.
S; 45-^:35. Arrival of children, work period. As the habit
of promptness is valuable, the children are encouraged to
come to school at about 8:45, but exceptions are made in the
cases of children who come a long distance or whose routine
cannot be hurried. At this age starting the morning happily
and without emotional upsets is more important than strict
adherence to a time schedule.
When the children have hung up their wraps in the dress-
ing room (taking part of the responsibility for doing this
properly) , they come into the kindergarten room. After say-
ing "Good morning," they plan and are helped to plan
their activities for the first part of the morning. Every child
is encouraged to spend some time using the various pieces
of apparatus that are provided for physical development.
He is also helped to keep a balance between the various
THE ORGANIZATION 2g
activities, sometimes building with blocks, at other times us-
ing materials at the tables or the workbench, and often spend-
ing the morning in free dramatic play. At the end of the
work period, which is sometimes prolonged if there is some
special interest for which more time is needed, the children
put away their work and materials and help to put the room
in order.
9*35-9*50. Story time.
9:50-10:10. This is the period when the children go out
to the dressing room, use the toilet, and wash their hands.
When they return to the room they set the table and have a
simple lunch of orange juice or milk and crackers, according
to their particular needs.
10:45-11:00. As the children finish lunch they get their
individual rugs, spread them on the floor, and stretch out for
a period of quiet relaxation. Sometimes at the end of a rest
period a carefully selected record is played on the phono-
graph.
ii : 00-11 :i5* When interest in music becomes general this
is the time for group musical experiences, singing, rhythm,
and the use of instruments. In good weather this group
experience in music may be omitted and the whole of the
last hour spent out of doors.
11:15-12:00. Whenever the weather permits, this time is
spent out of doors on the playground or on the campus. At
other times interesting excursions are taken in the building
or the neighborhood, or the period may be used for some
particular interest such as drawing or dramatic play or, in
the latter part of the year, simple games.
This schedule is subject to change as the situation may de-
mand, but care is taken that lunch and rest come at approxi-
26 CHILD AND ENVIRONMENT
mately the same time each day. During the first week of
school the kindergarten session is only two hours in length
instead of the usual three hours. This shorter period is long
enough for children coming into a new experience and makes
for better adjustment.
ORGANIZATION OF THE GROUP
There are approximately forty-five children in the Five-
Year-Old Kindergarten. The children are divided into small
groups. At first this division is made according to chronologi-
cal age; later the children may be moved from one group
to another if such a move tends to make for a better social
organization. On account of the strain from noise and over-
stimulation which results when many children play together,
the children are divided into two groups whenever possible
and the schedule is reversed for the second group (weather
is the determining factor) . When this plan is followed, half
of the children are in the room while the other half are on
the playground. Those who are on the playground early in
the morning have their work period during the latter part of
the morning while the first group have their outdoor activi-
ties. All the children are in the rooms together for lunch
and rest.
PART II
THE CURRICULUM
V
SOCIAL SCIENCE
THE social order of today is a closely integrated one. If we
are to be satisfactory members of society we must learn how
to live constructively with other people. In order to learn to
do this we must have opportunity for contacts with people,
for working in a group, for developing social responsibility;
and we must know something about the organization of the
world in which we live and be able to interpret the activi-
ties going on around us in their relation to the social order.
The information we gain is of value chiefly as it clarifies
social experience and aids us in our adjustments to social life.
These opportunities for social contact, for the development
of social responsibility, plus knowledge and understanding
of the world in which we live, constitute what is called "so-
cial science/* It may readily be seen that much of the kinder-
garten curriculum is made up of social experiences and that
out of these grow other phases of subject matter. A large part
of kindergarten experience has to do with learning to live
happily, comfortably, and constructively with other people.
This is perhaps the most important thing that the child
learns in kindergarten.
Children also have a great interest in the activities going
on around them and a desire for information about the
world in general. This is another phase of social science. It
29
gO THE CURRICULUM
is the responsibility of the kindergarten to give the children,
to the extent to which they are able to assimilate it, correct
information and adequate explanations. More important still,
the children should be shown how to get information for
themselves. Fact and fancy are strangely interwoven at this
age and we must be careful to lay the emphasis where it is
needed, keeping each in its legitimate place. Children often
have an astonishing collection of wrong impressions and mis-
Information, because adults do not take the time to help
them clarify impressions or to give correct information. Ac-
tual experiences, conversation, pictures, and stories can be
used to disentangle confused ideas and to clarify thinking.
EXPERIENCES IN SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Before considering in detail the various aspects of social
science in the Kindergarten it may be well to describe and
analyze several experiences of differing types.
Personal Social Relationships
The children at the sand table had been careless and sand
had been spilled on the floor. At music time, when the chil-
dren were skipping, David came to the teacher and said,
"There is sand on the floor and it made me slip." The
teacher stopped the music activity long enough for a group
discussion of the situation.
Teacher: David says the children who were playing at the sandbox
were careless and spilled sand on the floor. We have talked about
this before, haven't we? Can you think of anything we can do to
help us to be more careful?
Bobby: Ask them to sit down if they are spilling sand.
Teacher: We might do that, but if we saw a child spilling sand might
It not be better to go over and ask him to be careful?
SOCIAL SCIENCE gl
Children: Yes! Let's try it.
Teacher: All right. Jean, do you want to go over to the sandbox and
begin to play? Sally can go over and remind you to be careful. (Jean
and Sally go to sandbox.)
Sally: Jean, you are spilling sand. Can you be more careful? We slip
on it,
Jean: Yes, I'll try.
(Several children repeat this play.)
This is a simple situation which is concerned entirely with
social relationships, and consideration of the rights and the
comfort of others. Emphasis was placed on helping children
to do better without punishment, and on making a sugges-
tion in a constructive way, which is often a difficult proce-
dure for children, and had been difficult for the particular
children involved.
General Social Relationship Involving Subject Matter
A picture showing ships and a lighthouse was put up in
the room. The children noticed it. The following discussion
took place:
Billy: I know what this is (pointing to the lighthouse) . It's a light-
house.
Bobby: I know about lighthouses. They have little staircases that go
round and round inside.
Teacher: What are lighthouses for?
Alice: To keep ships from going on the rocks.
Teacher: How do they keep ships from going on the rocks?
Bobby: They have a light. I know a story about a little girl in a light-
house.
Teacher: Tell it to us.
Bobby: This little girl lived in a lighthouse and her father was on
shore and it was too stormy to get back. The little girl knew it was
time to light the light so she went up and tried to light it. She
couldn't reach it so she got a box and climbed on it. Then she could
light it.
32 THE CURRICULUM
Teacher: Why did she have to be sure to light it?
Bobby: Because it was stormy and a lot of ships would be wrecked
if she didn't.
This brief experience included some information about
lighthouses, some understanding of their importance and the
responsibility of the people in charge of them. It gave op-
portunity for exchange of ideas, which is language, and in-
cluded a story by one child, which is literature. If the interest
were to continue more information would be developed
later.
A Social Adjustment Involving Subject Matter
David and Bobby were playing with a freight boat and a
passenger boat. Difficulties arose because Bobby had all the
pieces of wood that represented packages and letters on the
freight boat, and David wanted some on the liner. Bobby
insisted that only freight boats carried mail. Snatching, fol-
lowed by a fight, made it advisable for the teacher to enter
the discussion.
Teacher: Let's sit down and talk this over. What is the trouble?
Bobby: David wants mail on his boat. Liners don't carry mail.
David: They do tool
Teacher: Are you sure about it, Bobby?
Bobby: Yes.
Teacher: (To children) What do you think?
(The children are divided in their opinions.)
Bobby: They don't carry mail.
David: They dot
Teacher: How are we going to find out? Here is a book that tells about
mail; perhaps that will help us. (The teacher reads story about letter
traveling around the world. One picture shows where mail is carried
on a liner.)
Teacher: Bobby, does this picture help you to decide whether a liner
carries mail?
SOCIAL SCIENCE 33
Bobby: Yes, it does. David was right.
Teacher: Then next time you play with the boats, could David's liner
carry some of the mail? That would be fair, wouldn't it?
Bobby and David: Yes!
In this experience information was of value chiefly be-
cause it helped in social adjustment. The children were be-
ginning to realize that arguments can often be settled by
getting correct information about the facts. It was their first
experience in going to a neutral authority, in this case a
book, to settle a discussion.
Using Information to Raise the Standard of Play
The children were playing airplane, flying around the
room in a somewhat disorganized way. A group meeting was
called to discuss the way in which an airplane starts and stops,
the way of heating up the engine, rising slowly, and landing
carefully, and the necessity of care in flying. The children
contributed much information to this discussion, which had
a very definite influence on their play.
Experience in Social Living Involving Subject Matter
The George Washington Bridge. For several days the in-
terest in the George Washington Bridge showed itself in
conversation and in bringing pictures from home before
it actually crystallized in play. Toward the end of the year
Harold and Jane built a bridge with the Project Play Blocks
and wood, using string for cables.
The bridge was complete, with approaches and footpaths,
and thefe was a good deal of play with automobiles and toy
people crossing the bridge, and boats going under it.
A group of six or eight children wanted a bridge that
34 THE CURRICULUM
they themselves could walk over. They built a simple bridge
using the corner blocks of the Hill Floor Blocks and long
planks. There was some discussion whether this was the
bridge of the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" or the George Wash-
ington Bridge. There was a good deal of conversation about
the bridge, with particular interest in watching it grow and
in seeing the cables go across. The high spot of interest was
laying the road, but the thrill came when the bridge was
open for traffic and the children could actually walk across
the bridge they themselves had built. Fishing from the bridge
and sailing boats under it were added elements of interest.
The building of the bridge aroused interest in various
ways of traveling to New Jersey by ferries, by the Hudson
Tunnel, by the George Washington Bridge itself. Individual
children made tunnels in the sand table. Alan painted a
crude map of the river with the New York and the New
Jersey shores.
The culmination of this experience was an excursion
to the George Washington Bridge, with the children and
their teachers crossing the bridge in automobiles. Much
more conversation resulted in regard to the bridge, ways of
crossing the river, bridge toll, signs, lights, and differences
between the New York and the New Jersey shores. The
children were much interested in the possibility of walking
across the bridge, and some of them have since urged their
parents to take them to walk part way across it. All these
experiences and discussions led to an understanding of the
relationship of the bridge to the life of the community, and
its contribution to the welfare of the city and of the towns
across the river. There was much social experience connected
with the building of play bridges. Dick, a solitary worker,
SOCIAL SCIENCE 5
was so interested in Tony's bridge that he joined in paint-
ing it. An appreciative group often gathered to watch the
making or painting of a bridge and to offer suggestions.
When John's bridge was used in the sand table, more ques-
tions of social adjustment arose since many children wished
to play with it. John was not an especially social child but
he liked the interest the other children showed in his bridge
and really enjoyed letting them play with him. Some of
the more formal phases of subject matter that came out of
the experience may be briefly analyzed as follows.
Arithmetic. Planning the proportions of the bridges, meas-
uring the size of the supports, and counting the nails on each
side for cables gave opportunity for number work.
Language. There was much discussion about bridges, and
the conversation of the children as they played with the
bridges involved the use of many new words.
Literature. There seemed to be no satisfactory stories about
bridges for children of this age. The teacher therefore used
pictures of bridges and told a very simple story about the
building of the George Washington Bridge.
Industrial Arts. The children built bridges of blocks and
wood, and made boats to go under the bridges,
Fine Arts. A number of the children painted pictures of
bridges at the easel, or drew pictures with crayons.
History and Geography. In the course of conversation
there was discussion about the development of ways of cross-
ing rivers, what early bridges were like, and in what direc-
tions the George Washington Bridge extends. The charac-
teristics of the New York and the New Jersey sides of the
river figured largely in the discussion and in pictures. One
child made a very crude map of the river and the bridge.
g6 THE CURRICULUM
Science. An awareness of the possibility of spanning space
by bridges was developed.
This was in no way a closely integrated activity, although
there was a central thought in which every one was in-
terested. Many small group and individual activities were
carried on, with the entire group occasionally taking part
in discussions and all the children participating in the ex-
cursion. The interests here described occurred and recurred,
being spread over a considerable period of time, and illus-
trate the way in which the children's social science interests
are considered and developed*
Social Experiences Utilizing Simple Forms of Subject Matter
As the activities of the Kindergarten develop, the begin-
nings of subject matter are evident. Each activity is likely
to offer opportunity for growth in social organization, to have
a health aspect, and to contain possibilities for the develop-
ment of different types of subject matter. We may see in one
activity the simplest beginnings of history and geography.
In the course of conversation we hear such remarks as these:
"I live on isoth Street"; "I come all the way from Jersey
and I come on the ferry*'; "This boat is going up the river
to Albany" this last from a child building with blocks.
Thus begins the understanding of place relationships which
is essential to geography.
In such statements as "When I was a little baby, a long
time ago, I couldn't put on my own shoes; now I can,"
"When we were in the four-year-old group we went to the
playground first thing in the morning/' may be seen the be-
ginnings of the understanding of time relationship that is
essential to an understanding of history. We hear the chil-
BUILDING THE BIG BRIDGE
MAKING SAND PIES IN THE SUN
SOCIAL SCIENCE 37
dren make such statements as "When my grandmother was a
little girl she rode in a carriage. There weren't any automo-
biles." This again brings in the time concept in history.
Children are interested in places where people go. A
mother goes south to Florida or north to Maine. The chil-
dren enjoy tracing the journey on a map. A railroad map is
especially interesting. Children often make simple maps
showing the way to the elevator in school, the plan of their
apartment, or the way to the grocery store. They are interested
in the general points of the compass and sometimes play
a game of walking north, east, west, and south. They begin
to know certain geographical facts about their environment;
for example, New Jersey is across the Hudson River and is
west of New York, the Triborough Bridge is east of New
York, and so on. They begin to realize that a river Is dif-
ferent from an ocean and in what ways it is different; they
begin to realize that the sun has some relation to the chang-
ing seasons. Many phases of geography have their beginnings
in the actual experience of these children.
The subject matter of the different phases of social sciences
arises in various ways.
Having an Actual Experience. In many cases this is the
most desirable way to get information. When the Lindbergh
plane was placed in the Museum of Natural History the
children heard it discussed, saw pictures of it in the papers,
and at their own request were taken to the museum to see
it. When an interest in boats arose, the children and teachers
walked to Riverside Drive to see boats on the river.
Recalling an Experience. Children who have traveled on a
boat or a train, or have had some other interesting experi-
ence, may tell about it, thus starting discussion.
38 THE CURRICULUM
Vicarious Experience from Books. A picture or a story
often leads to much discussion and may suggest an activity.
Pictures and models are also used to clarify discussions when
opportunity for the actual experience cannot be provided.
Dramatic Play. Children dramatize experiences in which
they have participated or about which they have heard, such
as going to the farm, delivering milk, traveling.
As interests vary from year to year it is possible to list
only some of the most important ones that have occurred.
Those selected have many educational possibilities and be-
cause of their vitality are apt to recur with successive groups
of children.
Home Relationships
The activities relating to home and home relationships
include all phases of family life: sleeping, eating, cooking,
cleaning, going for walks, dressing up, playing sick child and
doctor, telephoning, buying food, building houses, moving
in furniture. Many of these activities take place both dra-
matically and in a realistic way, as the following examples
give evidence.
Cooking. The children play cooking, using the toy stove,
and serve many imaginary meals. They also use the electric
stove, under supervision, and cook foods that are suitable
for children to eat, such as carrots, spinach, applesauce, and
gingerbread cookies. Butter and ice cream are made. Cook-
ing gives opportunity for emphasizing hygienic habits with
regard to the handling of food, and for teaching a few simple
facts about food values, the ingredients used in cooking, and
the actual cooking process. It frequently serves to popularize
a food that has been none too well liked by individual chil-
SOCIAL SCIENCE 39
dren. It is essential to have the right equipment for cooking
and to cook under hygienic and safe conditions.
Housekeeping. In their play the children continually
dramatize various phases o housekeeping, such as sweeping,
dusting, washing doll dishes and doll clothes, and putting
things in order. Even more interesting is the actual participa-
tion in the real process. The children wash the doll clothes
and iron them with a small electric iron. This is done under
careful supervision.
The children also gradually assume some of the responsi-
bility for the actual care of the room, forming the habit of
putting away material, picking up scraps, sweeping the floor,
and washing the tables after painting. If they are to form
these habits it is essential to provide the right materials, such
as small brushes and brooms, long-handled dustpans, and
damp cloths for wiping the tables. These materials are kept
in convenient places where they are easily accessible to the
children.
Community Relationships
Store. The type of store made by the children varies. It
may be a grocery, a dairy, or a toy store. The activities in
connection with the store include making the store, buying
and selling, telephoning orders, delivering goods, and some-
times making signs and articles to sell.
Hospital. Children are very likely to play hospital, es-
pecially after being in a hospital. When this play does occur
it may be used as an opportunity to develop right attitudes
toward hospital experience.
Fire-Engine House. Playing "fire" occurs repeatedly in the
Kindergarten. Because of its content this play offers possi-
40 THE CURRICULUM
bility for rich dramatic activity. It usually begins in a frag-
mentary way, but often develops to a high degree of
organization. Many valuable learnings come out of this play,
such as knowledge of fire prevention, fire protection, the
place of the fire department, and the way to take care of
oneself in case of fire.
Post Office. Very simple forms of this play satisfy kinder-
garten children, interest being mainly in collecting and de-
livering letters. Sometimes the children make a postbox, or
build a post office.
Farm. The farm is another general and intensive interest
which usually recurs throughout the year. Probably the most
outstanding interest is in the dairy farm, and in farm ani-
mals. The smaller building blocks and the sandbox are
usually the centers for this activity.
Theater, Occasionally the children play theater. Usually
the kindergarten tables and chairs prove to be sufficient for
stage properties. Sometimes the children are the actors, and
at other times the dolls. These plays are very short and
cover a variety of subject matter reaching from farms to
fairies. The building up of the social organization even more
than the plays themselves is of real value to the children.
Transportation. Interest in various forms of transporta-
tion can be relied on to appear in every group of children.
Trains Activities vary from playing train with packing
boxes in the playground, to building quite intricate railroad
systems, including stations, tunnels, and tracks made with
blocks, and to making trains, signals, and so on, with
wood.
Boats Boat activities are carried on with as great en-
thusiasm as train activities. Much the same materials are
SOCIAL SCIENCE 41
used, with the addition of a water tank, which gives actual
opportunity for using boats in water.
Airplanes As with boats and trains, a variety of materials
can be used. Interest is in types of airplanes, hangars, land-
ing fields, lights, and the like.
Automobiles The children have much experience with
automobiles, and are interested in the various makes of
cars. Their automobile play includes trips to various places
with interest shown in obeying traffic regulations and in using
service stations for gas and repairs. Filling stations are often
made with blocks, and a length of rubber hose is particularly
useful. Traffic signals of all kinds are made, and streets are
laid out with blocks so that signals can be used.
All these interests appear in a variety of ways, and occur
and recur during the year. The interest in boats, for exam-
ple, was displayed in many ways throughout the year. Rec-
ords for the year show that during the first week of school
this interest appeared in the playground, where a group
played boat with a packing box. In the kindergarten room
the toy boat suggested the building of a dock with blocks.
According to the kindergarten records, the interest recurred
during the year, the activities becoming more complex as
the year progressed. The following excerpts illustrate how
any one interest may appear and develop throughout the
year.
Week of October 11
A group of boys were interested in making a dock with blocks, using
toy boats and barges. Much, interest was shown in freight; small blocks
were used as freight. A harbor was built, and toy people fished from the
pier. There was conversation about boats and several children made
boats with wood. The use of the social science reader A Story About
Boats led to further discussion and questioning.
42 THE CURRICULUM
Week of October 26
Discussion of differences between docks and stations arose as a result
of boat and train play with blocks (child said boat came into station) .
Discussion of freight carried by boats on river followed. One child made
the "Robert Fulton." There was discussion of early boats.
Week of February 4
One group worked all week with the Project Play Blocks, making rail-
road tracks to connect with dock. The general interest has been loading
and unloading freight.
Week of February 18
Jane and Harold built the George Washington Bridge with a com-
bination of blocks, boards, and roving for cables. People and auto-
mobiles were crossing the bridge; many boats were going under the
bridge.
Some expression of the children's desire to learn more
about boats appeared every week. In March the boat interest
culminated in the building of the "Queen Mary" with the
Hill Floor Blocks. This activity involved practically the
whole Kindergarten and lasted about three weeks. The record
states: "This is the first interest in which the entire group
has definitely participated, although there have been other
large group interests." In developing this activity the chil-
dren used a great variety of materials. Books were consulted
for information, and pictures were constantly examined.
Participation does not mean that all the children displayed
a continued active interest, but it does mean that at one time
or another every child was interested to the point of taking
some part. Even though this was an unusually popular ac-
tivity, some of the children were meanwhile pursuing other
interests. For instance, a little girl who had been absorbed
in making a doll dress might pick up her sewing, buy a
ticket, and board the boat; or another child might leave his
SOCIAL SCIENCE 43
painting, take a ride on the boat, and then go back to finish
his picture.
Another interest that appears again and again in various
forms is playing store, varying from the simplest form of
this activity, which may be making and selling pies in the
sandbox, to using a board or a table for a counter and selling
a miscellaneous collection of objects; or even to building a
store out of blocks with the children making the things they
have to sell. This activity often lasts two or three weeks.
Although the more elaborate project of longer duration is
of value, we usually find that the shorter fragmentary in-
terest is of even greater value to the individual child.
Discussion of Current Events
Often when some important event is featured in the news-
paper, the children hear it discussed at home and are likely
to start a discussion of it at school. Pictures from the roto-
gravure supplement of the Sunday newspaper are often
brought to school. The children are Interested in weather
reports, in accounts of any unusual weather condition, in
events such as the Ohio River flood, the opening of the
Triborough Bridge, or a large fire in the city.
A group of three boys built a newspaper stand and decided
to make newspapers to sell. This led to a general interest in
newspapers and in the need for discrimination in the choice
of news Items to put in their own papers. Many children
participated in the activity of making newspapers, and their
papers reflected the experience they had had with real papers.
Interest was mainly in exciting events (often tending to-
ward tragedy) , and in advertising. Some papers were en-
tirely composed of advertising, others were "picture papers."
44 THE CURRICULUM
These newspapers were very simple in form, being usually
a single sheet of paper with a few words written by the
teacher at the child's dictation to supplement his picture.
Discussion of Social Issues
Situations may arise necessitating discussion of large so-
cial issues. If the children build a battleship or a fort, or if
they are playing Indian or cowboy or soldier, there is usually
a great deal of shooting and the need arises for a discussion
of this activity. The question is discussed very frankly, the
dangers of playing with guns are pointed out, and emphasis
is placed on the fact that it is unwise to point guns at other
people or even to pretend to shoot. When the question of
war comes up, this also is frankly discussed. The discussion is
not a wholly idealistic one, but revolves around present con-
ditions. Contributions made by the children to the discus-
sion have included the following statements: "When there
is war lots of people get killed." "When there is war things
get destroyed." "If one man kills another man we put him
in jail. If lots of men kill other men, why don't we put them
in jail?"
In the course of discussion the children are likely to point
out that we still have an army and a navy. This leads to
further discussion of the fact that it would be desirable for
all nations to disarm but that this ideal is still something to
be worked for and is as yet not realized; also that we have
the army and navy only for self-protection, not for aggres-
sion.
After an earnest discussion in which the whole group par-
ticipated, there was a marked difference in the children's
play, with very little warlike activity. Several times one child
SOCIAL SCIENCE 45
reminded another not to play shooting. One mother reported
that her boy had put Ms toy gun away.
On another occasion the question of hunting wild animals
arose. One child said: "That is just what we were talking
about before/' and the group discussed the undesirability
of shooting animals "for fun" when they were not needed
for food. There was also discussion of the dangers that might
be involved; one hunter might shoot another, or shoot peo-
ple walking in the woods.
Another important social issue is responsibility for helping
other people when they are in difficulties. Every year some
specific situation arises. Some one may ask for clothing for a
child who is in need, or tell of an undernourished child who
needs milk. A concrete situation such as this gives rise to a
discussion of responsibility for sharing with other people,
avoiding the aspect of charity. The children bring clothing
and save pennies, always with a definite situation in mind;
for example, bringing their pennies to send to the Red
Cross at the time of the Ohio River flood in the winter of
1937-
Desired Outcomes
It is readily seen that through their experience in living
together the children have many opportunities to make in-
dividual and group adjustments. They begin to learn their
responsibilities as members of an organization and to realize
that certain definite rules are necessary to the well-being of
their own group and of a larger society. There is a beginning
also in the development of certain desirable social attitudes.
The children are also gaining some understanding o
wider human relationships as well as of relationships of time
46 THE CURRICULUM
and place. They are gaining specific information in con-
nection with each activity in which they participate.
EXCURSIONS
Excursions enrich and clarify the experiences in which the
children are participating, and also supply a wider field of
subject matter. The situation of the Kindergarten in Teach-
ers College affords exceptionally rich opportunities for in-
teresting excursions in the building, and only occasionally is
it necessary to go farther afield. Every excursion that is taken
is in connection with a specific experience. Before going on
the excursion the children and the teachers discuss how to
get to the place where they are going, and how to take care
of themselves on the excursion. Responsibilities include
keeping hands off the glass cases in a museum, keeping to-
gether in a group, and being quiet in public places.
A great deal of questioning and conversation takes place
during the excursion, and its effect may be noticed for some
time afterwards. There Is, however, no formal discussion on
the return from the excursion. Expressions of interest come
spontaneously from the children. Children's discussion is not
always a measure of their interest. Teachers are often too
eager for visible evidence of children's reactions to an ex-
perience and try to get them to discuss it immediately, or they
may expect results in terms of pictures, block building, wood-
work, and the like. A wise teacher will realize that this ex-
pression may come up later as an enrichment of a further
experience. For example, a group of children took a subway
ride from 12 5th Street to n6th Street, Manhattan, because
of an expressed desire on the part of several children who
had not been on a subway. This trip included a ride on the
SOCIAL SCIENCE 47
escalator at 12 5th Street, putting money in the slot, waiting
on the high platform for the train, riding in the first car so
that it was possible to watch the train going into the tunnel,
and getting off at n6th Street where it was possible to see
trains going from the tunnel to the outdoor tracks. The
children were full of questions and talk during the trip.
However, they made no further mention of the trip until
about three months later, when they suddenly burst into
playing subway, building tunnels, and painting pictures of
trains. This experience which had lain fallow for three
months then functioned most intensively.
Excursions taken during the school year include visits In
the College buildings, in the neighborhood, and to places
of interest in the city.
Excursions in the College Buildings
Fine Arts. Within the College buildings there were excur-
sions to the clay room to watch the students model and to see
the equipment; and to the art studios to see students painting
or drawing.
Household Arts. The children visited the Household Arts
department, to observe cooking and up-to-date refrigeration.
Science. The children also visited the Biology department
where white rats and guinea pigs are used for experiments in
diet and where they could see the effect of diet on these ani-
mals. They saw, for example, two guinea pigs, one with sleek
hair because of proper feeding, and the other with rough
poor hair because of improper feeding. The children were
quick to grasp the significance of this difference. In the Hor-
ace Mann science room the children saw and examined a
variety of nature material. They were occasionally invited
48 THE CURRICULUM
to go to the science room to see a moving picture showing
farm animals, how wild animals sleep in winter, and so on.
Machinery. There was a trip to the engine room in the
basement o the college building to see the engines in ac-
tion. These engines pump water, circulate air, and generate
electricity.
School and College Libraries. Although the children had
their own books in the kindergarten room they enjoyed going
to the larger libraries for wider experience. They learned
to use the books in a library and also learned how to take
care of themselves in a situation where other people are
studying and reading.
Swimming Pool. The children watched older children and
adults swimming in the pool.
Excursions in the Neighborhood
Stores. The children went to the grocery store to buy
needed supplies for cooking; to the dairy for cream to make
butter; to the florist to buy flowers for the kindergarten
room; and to the clock store to have the clock repaired.
The River. The children were taken to Riverside Drive to
see the boats on the river.
Churches. Excursions were made to St. Paul's Chapel,
Riverside Church, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
to see beautiful church interiors and hear the bells.
Excursions in the City
Places of interest visited in the city included the Museum
of Natural History, a fire-engine house and a fireboat, and
the George Washington Bridge. The children also had a ride
on a ferryboat.
SOCIAL SCIENCE 49
Picnic. The longest excursion is made at the end of each
year to a picnic ground in Van Cortlandt Park. Here the
children play in the woods, gather flowers, and eat a picnic
lunch. The picnic ends with a bonfire which not only is a
fascinating experience for the children but gives opportunity
for good civic training emphasizing the responsibility for
cleaning up a picnic ground.
Desired Outcomes
A great deal is learned about how to conduct oneself on
an excursion, especially in a public building.
Actual information is gained and the experience often
clarifies ideas and supplies a stimulus for creative work.
HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS
The celebration of holidays and festivals is a part of social
living. In the Five-Year-Old Kindergarten holidays are
treated as opportunities for enriching experience rather than
as occasions to be superficially or too elaborately observed,
or as a core around which a curriculum may be built. Values
are carefully weighed. In some schools Hallowe'en, a most
incidental holiday, often receives greater attention than
Christmas. It is more desirable for children to have simple
fun by making a real pumpkin jack-o'-lantern than to live
for a week or two in a room hung with crepe paper and
decorated with cut-out witches and paper pumpkins.
We want to help the children to gain from festival ex-
periences everything that is valuable for their age, but it is
unwise to overemphasize the situation, to overstimulate the
children, or to resort to devices to keep their interest. When
such devices are used experience ceases to be educative.
gO THE CURRICULUM
In planning worth-while experiences in relation to holiday
celebrations there are a few outstanding points to be con-
sidered.
1. What is most valuable for a kindergarten child to know
about holidays?
In general his information should be of the simplest kind,
though this will naturally vary with the individual child and
with the interests of the group. Because the children of this
age have little sense of time relationships, elaborate historical
explanations and stories are not necessary. A brief discussion
to clarify the situation for the child and to help him under-
stand why people are celebrating the holiday is all that is
needed. Thanksgiving, for example, may be connected with
its historical origin if the children are interested in this, but
the very obvious explanation of the name of the day, that it
is a harvest time when people think of all the various things
for which they are thankful, is usually sufficient.
Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays, because they are
national holidays, should not be passed over without recog-
nition, but an informal discussion is all that is needed, with
perhaps a picture to clarify the discussion. Easter should be
approached in the same manner as Thanksgiving, with the
explanation that it is a time to be glad because spring has
come. The simplest version of the Christmas story supplies
the background for Christmas experiences.
2. How may festival experiences be celebrated so that they
will be valuable and give satisfaction to the child, yet not
be overstimulating?
The festivals which mean most to children are Christmas
and their own birthdays. These offer opportunities for the
SOCIAL SCIENCE 51
greatest happiness, but too often are merely occasions for
overstimulation. A definite effort to counteract this tendency
is made in the Kindergarten. At a parents* meeting early In
the year the question of festivals is discussed and the parents
are urged to keep experiences simple. A birthday celebration
at school is a very simple occasion; the appropriate number of
candles is burned at lunch time, and the birthday child may
be given a special privilege to choose a story or a song. This
is sufficient celebration, but if the parents wish to do any-
thing more they are encouraged to bring cookies rather than
a birthday cake. Many parents co-operate in the suggestion
that instead of an elaborate birthday party at home the child
entertain one or two friends at luncheon.
In New York, Christmas preparations are so overdone that
there seems to be great need to keep the school experiences
of this holiday season simple. The Christmas situation is
discussed with parents and they are given a suggestive list
of books and playthings suitable for gifts. It is suggested also
that instead of taking the children to the department stores
to be confused by crowds and multiple Santas, the parents
take them to see toy displays in smaller shops in the neigh-
borhood. In kindergarten the children get a great deal of
satisfaction from the simplest experiences and preparations.
Many of them are interested in making gifts which are merely
the continuation of work they have been doing. Several
small trees instead of one large tree are placed in die room
during the last week of school so that the children may have
time to enjoy them, play with them, and trim them with the
paper decorations they have made. Among the interesting
features of the Christmas experience are the spontaneous
dramatizations that arise. The children "play Christmas" in
$% THE CURRICULUM
small groups in many different ways. There is no elaborate
culmination of the Christmas experience. On the day before
the vacation begins, the parents are asked to come to the
Kindergarten and to meet with the children in the chapel of
Teachers College. There is a short Christmas service consist-
ing of organ music, singing Christmas songs, and the reading
of the Christmas story. The first grade children also paiiici-
pate in this activity.
After the chapel service the children and their parents go
to the kindergarten room, where a fire is burning in the fire-
place. This and the gaily decorated Christmas trees give the
room a festive appearance. After a short period of singing
and dancing the children give their parents the presents they
have made for them.
St. Valentine's day is a festival in which children may take
part with a great deal of pleasure if the participation is sim-
ple. As with most of the holidays the greatest pleasure is in
the preparation. The children make original valentines for
their friends and one another. Usually these are taken home
and again there is no special culmination of the experience.
Desired Outcomes
Through these experiences the children gain some under-
standing of why festivals are celebrated. They have oppor-
tunity for wholesome, interesting, and simple participation
in the celebrations, and can build up appreciation of right
values with regard to these experiences.
HEALTH AND HYGIENE
The question of health is an important factor in commu-
nity living. In the Five-Year-Old Kindergarten the healthful
THE CHILDREN TRIM
THE CHRISTMAS TREE
WITH DECORATIONS
THEY HAVE MADE
A QUIET HOUR
BURROWING IN THE AUTUMN LEAVES
EACH SEASON HAS GOOD TIMES OF ITS OWN
MAKING THE MOST OF A FALL OF SNOW
SOCIAL SCIENCE 53
development of the child is carefully planned for at all times.
The school and the teacher are responsible for a healthful
environment, for medical examinations, and for the quick
recognition of colds or any sign of the beginning of a con-
tagious disease. In cases that seem to need special attention
the patter is discussed with the school medical office and
with the parents, and suggestions are made as to desirable
procedures.
There are also many aspects of health and hygiene of
which the children are made conscious. Definite health habits
are established, or at least started. Among these habits are:
keeping hands and other objects out of the mouth and nose,
and away from the face; washing hands after using the toilet,
before eating, and whenever dirty; covering cough and
sneeze; keeping hands off plates on which food is to be
placed; keeping hands out of drinking cups, and off edges
of cups; refraining from unnecessary handling of food; re-
fraining from eating food that has fallen on the floor; eating
and drinking slowly, and chewing food thoroughly.
There is also opportunity to discuss food values and the
reasons for eating certain foods. An effort is made to popu-
larize certain foods by helping the children prepare these
for their midmorning lunch. This lunch usually consists of
orange juice, tomato juice, or other fruit juices or milk,
according to the recommendation of each child's own physi-
cian, and sometimes graham crackers or fruit.
The rest period brings up a discussion of the need for
rest and for a definite number of hours of sleep. Although
individual cots have certain advantages, it is more practical
in this particular situation to have the children rest on wash-
able rugs on the floor. In order to keep conditions as hygienic
54 THE CURRICULUM
as possible each child's name is marked at one end of his rug.
The children are taught from the first day that they must
always lay their heads on ' the marked end. They are also
shown how to fold rugs lengthwise first in order to avoid
putting head and foot ends together. During the rest period
the window shades are drawn and emphasis is placed oiLquiet
and relaxation. The children are not expected to lie in any
one position, though they are helped to find a comfortable
resting position.
The teacher assumes the responsibility of seeing that the
room is well aired before the rest period and that in case of
draft the windows are closed while the children are resting.
At the beginning of the year the teacher helps each child
find a desirable place to put his rug for resting, which the
child usually keeps throughout the year. During the rest
period care is taken that there is no disturbance in the room,
the teachers sitting quietly near the children to give help if
needed. A "Rest Period" sign is placed on the outside of the
door during this time to prevent visitors from coming into
the room.
The care of the eyes is essential. The children are helped
to understand that work must be done in a good light but
not with direct sunlight in the eyes. They begin to learn to
take care of this situation for themselves and to regulate the
light.
As has been mentioned, outdoor play is considered most
important and as much time as possible is spent out of doors.
Indoors the children are encouraged to spend some time in
using various pieces of apparatus that give opportunity for
physical development, such as the Jungle Gym and the Hi~lo
Gym.
SOCIAL SCIENCE 55
There Is close co-operation between the home, the school
medical office, and the Kindergarten. Any child who has been
absent from school for any reason must report to the nurse
before he is re-admitted to the group. If during the morning
the teacher feels that any child Is not up to normal, he is
sent io the doctor's office for observation. The nurse and the
doctor decide whether he should remain in the group or go
home.
At the beginning of the year the parents sometimes ques-
tion this close supervision but soon understand and value it.
Desired Outcomes
Through the use of this carefully selected environment
the maximum development of healthy normal children is ex-
pected. The children are helped to understand the need for
certain essential desirable health habits and to form these
habits.
VI
NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES
NATURAL SCIENCE
CHILDREN are highly interested in many kinds of concrete sci-
ence experiences. They are often puzzled by natural phe-
nomena, and need to have help In understanding them.
Even In a city environment the teacher may find many op-
portunities to give the children valuable experiences in nat-
ural and physical sciences.
Animal Life
A friendly contact with animals Is the most satisfying na-
ture experience that It Is possible for little children to have.
In order to provide experience with a variety of animals it
has been found best to have pets as visitors rather than as
permanent guests In the Kindergarten. The length of their
visits varies from one day to a number of weeks, according
to the value of the experience for the children and the ease
with which It Is possible to care for the animal. The hygiene
of keeping animals In a kindergarten room must be consid-
ered. Cages which are appropriate for the care of various
animals and easily kept clean are part of the kindergarten
equipment. With care and definite supervision on the part
of teachers a firsthand contact with animals can be managed
56
THE SCIENCES 57
very successfully. Children should have a growing feeling o
responsibility for the care of pets. For instance, they enjoy
being partly responsible for providing the animals with
food, bringing vegetables from home for the rabbits or the
guinea-pig, or saving part of the milk from their midmom-
ing lunch for the mice. At this age, however, they cannot be
expected to assume the whole responsibility; that would be
fair neither to the animals nor to the children.
Examples of animal life that have been satisfactory vis-
itors in the kindergarten are: goldfish (permanent) ; canary
(may be permanent if desired) ; rabbits, guinea pig, white
rats and mice, pigeons, doves, frogs, turtles, large and small;
salamanders, newts, snails, worms; caterpillars, moths, but-
terflies, cocoons; duck, and hen and chickens. Some of these
animals, such as the duck, the rabbit, and the turtles, can
stay for an extended period of time. During the year a
large white drake was one of the most satisfactory of these
visitors. The children built a pen with the floor blocks and
laid it out as an apartment with various rooms. They gath-
ered grass from the campus and went to the college shipping
office to get excelsior for the drake's bed. A large pan of
water supplied him with a bath, and "Peppi," as the chil-
dren called him, did not seem to be at all hampered by
apartment life.
A very popular pair of visitors were "Mr. and Mrs. Pigeon,"
who lived in a large wire cage which the children furnished
with perches and a nest. There was great satisfaction when
first one egg appeared in the nest and then another. When
the children were told that the mother pigeon would be
more comfortable if they did not watch her too closely, they
suggested making a curtain to put around the part of the
gg THE CURRICULUM
cage In which the nest was placed. The experience culmi-
nated In the hatching of two baby pigeons which were kept
until they fledged out, and were then sent away to the
country.
Frogs' eggs brought in by one of the kindergarten jnothers
developed Into tadpoles. A tadpole kept in the kindergarten
room for two years developed into a frog.
There have been more temporary animal visitors, such as
the "leetle keety" brought in by a small Polish girl. Kitty
was too acrobatic to stay in a pen, and a house with a roof
had to be built for her day's visit. Friends often stop in with
some animal for the children to see. One day a teacher from
the biology department brought in her pet raccoon. This
animal was particularly interesting because the children
could watch him wash his paws before eating. The mother
of one of the children brought in a marmoset; another
brought a snake.
Because we consider it important for children to know
something about the birth and nurture of young creatures,
other types of experience with animal families are provided
in the Kindergarten. The children watch guppies develop
within the mother fish, or a mother rat feed her babies.
Twice a mother hen has hatched eggs and brought up a
family of chickens,
Other experiences with animals include visiting those in
the science room, the rats in the nutrition laboratory, the
squirrels, pigeons, and other birds on the campus, and see-
ing exhibits of animals in the Museum of Natural History.
Much vicarious experience with animal life is brought to
the children by means of books, pictures, moving pictures,
and stories.
THE SCIENCES 59
Plant Life
The most satisfactory experience that the children have
with plants is in the garden, which, though small, is for-
tunate! / sunny. Here the children can dig to their hearts*
content, a most desirable experience for children who live
in the city. Tulip, narcissus, crocus, and hyacinth bulbs are
planted in the fall. Quickly germinating seeds, such as sun-
flower, radish, corn, pumpkin, and bean, are planted in the
spring, and the children watch daily for the first seedlings.
These plants are growing well by the time school closes in
the spring; and in the fall there are crops to be gathered.
The corn grown in the garden is popped in the fireplace
during the fall; the pumpkin vine supplies pumpkins for
Hallowe'en, and the sunflower seeds are used as food for
the first grade parrot. The children enjoy planting the
seeds, but display their greatest activity and interest in
digging, shoveling earth, tunneling, discovering treasure
such as a variety of stones, watching the earthworms, finding
earth of different colors, feeling the earth with their hands,
and so on. This is an unusual opportunity for children in a
large city.
Tools that have proved most satisfactory for gardening
are trowels, spades, rakes, and watering cans. The use of
trowels, spades, and rakes gives real opportunity for physical
development.
During the winter there is a good deal of experimenta-
tion with plants indoors. Experiences include planting seeds
and bulbs in the window boxes, and narcissus bulbs, carrot
tops, sweet potatoes, and so on, in water. In the spring and
fall, after week-end visits to the country, the children bring
in flowers and help to arrange them. Bowls, vases, and insets
60 THE CURRICULUM
of different sorts are provided so that the children may have
experience in selecting appropriate containers for flowers.
An Indoor Garden
In an effort to enrich these city children's experiences
with nature, the teacher arranged for an empty sandbox to
be brought into the kindergarten room in the early spring,
and suggested that this would be a good place to make
the indoor garden that she and the children had been dis-
cussing. The children brought in pails of earth from the
outdoor garden to fill the sandbox. Then plans were made
as to what would be best to plant. The children decided to
plant radishes, lettuce, and carrots, and later, corn. The
vegetables were planted in one half of the space and grass
seed was sown in the other halt The children called it "the
farm" and two of them made a crude wooden farmhouse.
The teacher dressed two "Standpatter" dolls as the farmer
and his wife; these led to much dramatic play. A sprout
from an avocado seed which had been growing in a jar of
water for some time made an excellent tree. Each morning
when the children arrived they hurried to the garden to see
whether any seeds were growing and held long discussions
about possible progress. They watered the garden, raked
and cultivated it with small tools, and "mowed" the grass
with scissors. The garden was literally a growing thing. New
varieties of seed were planted, and accessories such as a pond
with tiny goldfish and a small birdhouse were added.
Other Outdoor Experiences
The university campus gives opportunities very valuable
to city children for raking and collecting leaves, finding dif-
A.N INTERESTING GUEST
HOW HOT IS IT? THE
BIG THERMOMETER IS
EASY TO READ
A SEASONAL OCCUPATION-PREPARING THE GOOD EARTH FOR SPRING
PLANTING
THE SANDBOX HAS POSSIBILITIES IN AN INDOOR GARDEN
THE SCIENCES 6 1
ferent kinds of trees, feeding the pigeons and the squirrels,
and playing on the grass and in the snow. It also provides
them with a place where they can wander and investigate in
safety.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Five-year-old children are beginning to have definite sci-
entific interests, and enjoy experimenting with the sand
glass, the magnet, the magnifying glass, and so forth. A large
three-foot thermometer is easy for the children to read;
they soon acquire the skill necessary for reading it and be-
come interested in room temperature.
There is always interest in seasonal changes and in weather
changes. These changes are sometimes emphasized by simple
experiments such as putting water out of doors to freeze and
bringing the ice indoors to melt.
An interest in simple mechanics is displayed, and some
children experiment with w r ays to pull things up. For in-
stance, building a two-story house with blocks usually means
the working out of some form of elevator.
There is great interest in the college and school elevators,
in the machinery in the basement, and in the electric clock.
There is always much conversation and investigation as to
"what makes things go" the mechanism of toy boats, trains,
airplanes, and automobiles.
Desired Outcomes
In the work in natural and physical sciences the follow-
ing objectives are kept in mind:
To give the children firsthand opportunity to observe and
experience some phases of cause and effect.
62 THE CURRICULUM
To give the children firsthand opportunity to experience,
investigate, and experiment, thus encouraging an attitude
of questioning and experimentation.
To give simple scientific information appropriate to the
child's interest and degree of understanding.
To give pleasurable experiences with various phases of
nature.
VII
CREATIVE ARTS
FROM earliest times man has taken a deep satisfaction in
his ability to use materials to create something that will be
his own and that will express his own individuality. Many
of us are limited in our ability to create because our expe-
riences both at school and at home have developed self-
consciousness, and have made us too cautious. The modern
school attempts to produce a situation in which such con-
ditions will not arise. Children are naturally creative, and
when free from too much adult interference achieve surpris-
ing results. More important than the result, however, is the
satisfaction that children get from creative work.
Children like to handle materials, to put things together
and to take them apart. Constructive materials are valuable
for several reasons. In the first place children get a satisfac-
tion from working with them. Again, children should be
encouraged to use their hands and to feel the joy of creating.
In working with materials the children have the opportunity
of experimenting, of gradually realizing the possibilities as
well as the limitations of these materials, of developing
skills, of learning to plan, and of gaining discrimination in
constructive criticism of their own and other children's work.
It is remarkable how much information children acquire
during the year which is the direct outgrowth of their work
63
64 THE CURRICULUM
with materials. For example, two boys were making boats,
one the "Queen Mary," the other the "Normandie/' When
a question came up as to the number of funnels and their
relative heights, both boys stopped work and proceeded to
hunt for the information. First they asked different persons
but different answers showed this was not a reliable source.
One boy finally got his information from a newspaper pic-
ture of the "Queen Mary." The other boy, not being able
to get the information he desired, suggested that the teacher
telephone to the steamship company's office. This was done
immediately, and work on the boats was resumed. This il-
lustration is evidence of good constructive thinking guided
by the realization of the value of obtaining needed informa-
tion from reliable sources.
In all creative work in the Kindergarten emphasis is put
on freedom of thought and expression and the children are
encouraged to express their ideas in art form. Carefully
selected materials and opportunities for creative work are
provided and the children use them freely and gain ideas
from experience, from their environment, and from one an-
other. The teachers help in the formation of certain essential
habits and skills, and provide situations and experiences
which will stimulate creative work. They are careful not to
impose their own ideas on the children or to give them too
mature techniques which may actually hamper their free-
dom of expression and originality. They are also careful not
to condition them as to content by mature suggestions.
The standards of workmanship of children of this age may
be raised by:
i. Providing opportunity for the child to do enough work
with the materials to realize their possibilities.
CREATIVE ARTS 65
2. Providing opportunity for the child to get helpful rec-
ognition. This may be recognition from another child, from
a member of his family, or from the teacher.
3. Providing opportunity for the child to get constructive
suggestions about improving his work. For example, when a
child is making something out of wood he will sometimes
use too many nails or not enough. His interest in the prod-
uct will help him to see that there is real point to the sug-
gestion that too many nails will split the wood or that one
nail is not enough to hold the wood together.
4. Helping the child to develop gradually In the ability
to analyze his own work and to learn how to improve it.
5. Bringing into the environment products made from the
same materials as those the child is using, which may serve as
inspiration or give actual help in information and technique.
6. Working with the children. This is an interesting and
satisfying way of occasionally giving the children actual help
and inspiration. The teacher may give the help personally,
or may arrange for an expert to come in and work with the
children. For example, on one occasion a well-known sculp-
tor, the father of one of the children, came to the Kinder-
garten, sat down at a table during the general activity period,
and started modeling. It was not long before he was sur-
rounded by a group of children, whom he invited to work
with him. It was interesting to note the variety of things the
children made. The sculptor's work gave them fresh inspira-
tion and interest in the possibilities of clay.
7. Giving actual help in technique. There are times when,
for the sake of safety or the development of greater skill,
the children need to be shown how to use materials or tools.
As the child progresses in his work there are many pro-
66 THE CURRICULUM
cedures In which he needs help, such as learning how to
join pieces of clay together (handles on cups, legs on ani-
mals) and learning the simple technique of using paints.
One valuable part of the work with materials is the in-
formation children gain as they work. This is one of the
many reasons why supervision is needed. The child who is
working on a toy airplane asks many questions and finds
out many facts about airplanes. The child who makes a boat
of blocks and plays "going to Europe" may learn much
about traveling in a boat if there is someone to answer his
questions, to give him suggestions, and to correct wrong im-
pressions. Care is taken, however, not to overdo the giving
of information; young children should not be overloaded
with facts.
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Language
The children in the Horace Mann School have so many rich
and varied experiences that the question of language is more
one of guiding than of stimulating conversation. Children
naturally like to talk about their own interests and experi-
ences, to tell their own stories, to look at pictures and books
which have familiar scenes and story content, and to discuss
them. All these natural activities supply opportunity for
language development.
At this age conversation is apt to be diffuse and scattered.
Children need to learn to follow one line of thought; to
have something worth talking about, and to tell it clearly
enough so that other people will understand it. The content
of the conversation is influenced by the work that goes on
in the Kindergarten and by the experiences that the chil-
CREATIVE ARTS 67
dren have outside of school. Throughout this plan for teach-
ing children many opportunities for language development
and for creative expression will be noted. There are inter-
esting conversations during the work period, at the lunch
table, and on excursions. The children are constantly ask-
ing questions- and adding new words to their vocabularies.
The teacher's responsibility lies in discrimination of content*
explanation of words, correction of speech difficulties with
the co-operation of the speech department of the College, and
in turning to advantage the opportunities that may arise for
the use of creative language.
With many of the children we see the beginning of writ-
ten language in their desire to record a story or an experi-
ence. They may dictate to the teacher a short descriptive
statement to accompany a picture and later branch out into
complete stories. Children frequently bring to school stories
that they have dictated at home; occasionally a child is able
to write or print a few words himself. Letter writing also
gives opportunity for oral and written expression. Letters
are written to classmates absent from school, to friends, and
to parents who are traveling.
It is most important that children have a variety of ex-
periences to enrich the content of their conversation and to
stimulate creative work. It is also important that they be
given language patterns which are sufficiently varied that
they can adapt them to their own creative work without
following any one pattern. The very fact that children will
pattern their creative work to some extent on stories and
poems they have heard makes it doubly necessary to be
careful of the quality and variety of material given them.
Language patterns are also constantly being set by the
68 THE CURRICULUM
teacher in her use of words, and the subject matter of her
conversation.
The following are examples of pictures, stories, and poems
made by children in the Kindergarten.
Picture Stories. The simplest of these are mere descriptions
of a picture:
There is one red apple tree and there is one green apple tree, and
one pear tree. The red apples are eating apples and the green apples
are cooking apples.
Others show a little more imagination:
The house has lots of bedrooms and kitchens. The garden has path-
ways. One pathway goes to the station. The other goes to the circus.
The house is made of bricks.
Others are the direct result of stories the children have heard:
CREATIVE ARTS
6 9
This is the fairies' house. One fairy is out in the sunshine. The
others are coming out in a little while.
Once there was a fairy that came from the sky. When that raindrop
(pictured) comes down it will be a fairy. The little fairy in the flower
is a nice fairy. The big fairy is a queen fairy.
The delight that the children feel in one of the first signs
of spring in the city the appearance of the flower carts
is expressed in the following picture and story made by a
little girl. The story (or poem) is unusual because it con-
tains so many different sense impressions.
These flowers have pretty smells; and I could eat them up, their
smells are so sweeL
These flowers are lilacs.
The flowers* colors are three blue and one red.
The horse is brown and white.
Bump, bump, the flowers are going to fall out!
'Cause one wheel is rather rougher than the other.
Poems. Music and poetry are closely allied and many un-
rhymed poems are chanted at music time as well as at other
times. After the children in one group had heard the poem
"I Stood Beneath the Apple Tree," by Rose Fyleman, a boy
chanted the following poem. He asked the teacher to write
it down so that he could take it home.
7O THE CURRICULUM
There was a little boy who climbed up in an apple tree.
He shook the top of the branch,
An apple fell to the ground.
He picked it up and put it in the basket,
Then he climbed again,
Then he shook some more,
And shook it in the basket,
Then he took it home to mother.
And mother said [finishing on a note of triumph],
"We'll all have apple sauce for supper S"
A group of three or four children together made this four-
line poem:
A moon is shining light,
The stars are twinkling bright,
The fairies dance around,
And drop down to the ground.
Several children composed original spring songs at music
time. One boy made this combination of story and song:
A little boy went out into the garden.
He sang:
Flowers grow
Sometimes they grow in the grass.
You will be happy because
You make the world beautiful.
On a rainy day after listening to several rain poems one
child said in definite rhythm:
I like the patter
Of rain on the roof*
Rain on the roof,
Rain on the roof,
I like the patter
Of rain on the roof.
Delight in the first snowfall of the year stimulated the
following expression:
CREATIVE ARTS *ji
Snow is falling down from heaven,
Snow is falling down from heaven,
Snow is falling down from heaven,
Snow, snow, snow!
Snow is falling down from heaven,
I like the snow!
The following poem was composed for Easter.
The Easter bunnies lived in a tree,
In a hollow hole
Around the hollow log were
Flowers and raisins and currants on ice,
And little bushes and trees.
The bunnies were happy little bunnies.
They were always good.
They liked the flowers,
They liked April rain,
They liked everything.
The little bunnies lived in a hollow log,
They liked the hollow log.
Then the little bunnies
When Eastertime had gone
Were not happy 'till Eastertime was back.
The little bunnies were very happy little bunnies
And they lived in a hollow log in a fog.
Literature
Stories and books offer unlimited opportunities for en-
joyment and for enriching and clarifying experience. They
supplement experience as a stimulus for creative expression.
Children of kindergarten age usually have had some ex-
perience with literature; they know a number of stories and
are eager to listen to others. In the kindergarten day there
72 THE CURRICULUM
Is a definite period set aside for storytelling, but experiences
with, literature are by no means limited to this period.
Groups of children gather around the library table to look
at books or to "read" stories to themselves and others. A
favorite book Is often brought to a teacher with the request
that it be read. Although stories are frequently used in con-
nection with an experience or interest that is uppermost at
the time, they are also used for their own sake and for
sheer enjoyment. A story about a grocery store has a special
appeal for children who are making a grocery store but its
use need not be limited to a time when they are having
such an experience. Stories such as "The Three Bears" have
a universal appeal and may be enjoyed by the children at any
time.
Poetry especially is not confined to the story period; the
time and place for it is whenever and wherever it seems ap-
propriate or fits in with the children's interests. The moment
the children look out of the windows and notice that it is
raining may be the time for "The rain is raining all around";
and the time when they are comparing raincoats in the cloak
room may be the appropriate moment for "Jti n had great
big waterproof boots on."
After the children have become familiar with a number
of stories they are given many opportunities to choose which
stories they wish to have repeated, for some stories will stand
an astonishing amount of repetition. A careful balance is
kept between old stories and new.
Stories and books are carefully selected. These standards
guide the choice:
i. The subject matter and form of the story should be suited
to the mental age and the interest of the children.
CREATIVE ARTS 73
2. The illustrations should be meaningful and simple. Il-
lustrations which are in color are particularly interesting
to children.
3. The books should be well bound and durable.
The test of a good story is the number of times the chil-
dren ask to have it retold.
Five-year-old children enjoy stories that are simply told,
with some repetition not overdone and a certain rhythmic
phrasing. These children are no longer satisfied with stories
that are a string of incidents loosely woven together; they
demand at least a slight plot, "something happening." Length
of attention span depends largely on the suitability of the
story; five-year-old children will listen with pleasure to a
suitable story even though it lasts ten minutes or more.
Many stories are read to the children and the pictures in
the storybooks add to their interest. However, we cannot
emphasize too strongly the value of the "told story"; it is
more direct and more informal; it holds the attention of
the child and definitely influences his interest in making
up his own stories.
In general the following types of literature are used in
the Kindergarten.
Picture Books and Picture Stories. These are very popu-
lar. The children bring their favorite picture stories to be
read over and over and to "read" to one another. There
are many beautiful picture books through which children
get a real art experience. The foreign-made picture books
lead to an interest in the countries from which they come
and children soon know them as "French books/* "Swedish
books," "German books/' and so on.
Familiar Folk Tales. These include stories such as "The
74 THE CURRICULUM
Three Bears" and "Three Billy Goats Graff." They are par-
ticularly acceptable when the year is beginning and some
of them will be called for throughout the year.
Other Fanciful Stones, These include simple modern fan-
ciful stories and a few of the less stimulating of the old fairy
tales. Children of this age do not need and should not be
given long and exciting fairy tales.
Stories of Familiar Experience, Children enjoy stories of
real experiences about other children and animals. A few
good stories of this sort are found in books; a number are
told by the teacher who draws from her own experience. A
slight element of adventure in stories is usually much en-
joyed.
Informational Books and Pictures. The most popular of
these books are those dealing with animals or with some
phase of transportation, and those connected with other in-
terests which arise, such as fire engine, grocery store, or
farm.
Poetry. Poems (including Mother Goose) are enjoyed at
any time for their rhythm, but they often mean more if
they are used in connection with some experience the chil-
dren are having.
The Kindergarten is provided with a well-equipped li-
brary (see pages 72-73) . At the beginning of the year a few
interesting and simple books are placed in the bookcase.
Others are added from time to time as more interests de-
velop and more books are needed. The children are encour-
aged to use the library and to look at books at any time.
Definite habits of correct use and care of books are started.
The children are reminded to have clean hands; are shown
CREATIVE ARTS ^5
how to open books carefully, how to turn pages, and how to
put books away on the shelves.
Story groups are small and informal. The activities of the
story period include looking at picture books and discussing
them; listening to stories read or told by the teacher; and
the children's own creative work in telling original stories
to the group.
Desired Outcomes
The outcomes in language vary widely with the indi-
vidual children. The shy child must be helped to gain self-
confidence, the over-confident child must learn to await his
turn. In general most children learn to have something
worth while to talk about; to speak slowly and distinctly
enough to be understood; to show some discrimination in
choice of words; to be able to contribute something in the
way of an original story or poem. The informal organiza-
tion of the Kindergarten allows for and encourages much
conversation. The content of this conversation is determined
by the children's own experiences and their environment
both at home and in school.
During the year we see a definite building up of vocabu-
lary. Experiences add many new words and the children
seldom let a new word go by without asking its meaning,
In literature children gradually build up an appreciation
and enjoyment of good books and stories, together with a
rich background of literary content. Their interest span and
their ability to attend gradually lengthen. Familiarity with
stories and books provides an excellent background for read-
ing interests. The children develop some ability to con-
tribute to discussion and to create original stories.
*j6 THE CURRICULUM
A Sampling of the Books Used in the Five-Y ear-Old Kinder-
garten
A sampling of the various types of books which have been
found useful In the Kindergarten is given below. This list
is not to be considered in any way comprehensive; it is merely
suggestive of the sorts of books in which the children are in-
terested.
Picture Books
Aviation Book. McLoughlin Brothers, Inc., Springfield, Mass., 1932.
Animal Pets. M. A. Donahue and Co., New York.
Big Book of Steamers. Blackie and Son, Limited, London and Glasgow.
Through Field and Wood. Blackie and Son, Limited.
Over Land and Sea. Samuel Gabriel and Sons, New York.
Railroad Book. McLoughlin Brothers, Inc., 1932.
The Night Before Christmas. Samuel Gabriel and Sons.
Picture-Story Books
Bannerman, Helen, Little Black Sambo. Frederick A. Stokes Co., New
York, 1952.
Bell, Thelma H. Black Face. Doubleday, Doran and Co., Garden City,
N. Y., 1931. ,
Beskow, Elsa. Pelle's New Suit. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1929.
Brooke, Leslie. Johnny Crow's Garden. Frederick Warne Co., New
York, 1903.
Dalgliesh, Alice. The Little Wooden Farmer. The Macmillan Co., New
York, 1930.
Flack, Marjorie. Angus and the Ducks. Doubleday, Doran and Co.,
1930.
Flack, Marjorie. Angus Lost. Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1932.
Flack, Marjorie. What to Do about Molly. Houghton Mifflin Co., Bos-
ton, 1936.
Gag, Wanda. The ABC Bunny. Coward-McCann, Inc., New York,
*933-
Gig, Wanda. Gone Is Gone. Coward-McCann, Inc., 1935.
Gig, Wanda. Millions of Cats. Coward-McCann, Inc., 1928.
CREATIVE ARTS ^y
Hader, Berta and Elmer. Whiffy McMann. Oxford University Press,
New York, 1933.
Lindman, Maj Jan. Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Gingerbread. .Albert
Whitman and Co., 1933.
Lindman, Maj Jan. Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Red Shoes. Albert Whit-
man and Co., Chicago, 1932.
Murray, Gretchen O. Shoes for Sandy. Grosset and Dunlap, New York,
1936.
Newberry, Clare T. Herbert the Lion. Brewer, Warren, Putnam, New
York, 1931.
Newberry, Clare T. Mittens. Harper and Brothers, 1936.
Olfers, SIbylle V. and Fish, Helen Dean. When the Root Children
Wake Up. Frederick A. Stokes, New York, 1936.
Over in the Meadow (An Old Nursery Song) . Illustrated by John
Anthony Kartell. Harper and Brothers, 1936.
Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Frederick Warne and Co.
Sewell, Helen. Blue Barns. The Maonillan Co., 1933.
Seidmann-Freud, Mrs. T. Peregrin and the Goldfish. The Macmillan Co.,
Poetry
Fyleman, Rose. Picture Rhymes from Foreign Lands. Frederick A.
Stokes Co., 1935.
Hader, Berta and Elmer. Picture Book of Mother Goose. Coward-Mc-
Cann, Inc., 1930.
Harrington, Mildred. Ring~a-Round. The Macmillan Co., 1930.
Milne, A. A. When We Were Very Young. E. P. Button and Co., New
York, 1924.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses. Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, 1916.
Tileston, Mary W. Sugar and Spice. Little, Brown and Co., 1928.
Wright, Blanche Fisher. The Real Mother Goose. Rand McNally and
Co., Chicago, 1916.
Informational Books
Coffin, Rebecca J. and Others. Picture Scripts. Grosset and Dunlap, Inc.,
New York, 1935.
Hader, Berta and Elmer. The Farmer in the Dell. The Macmillan
Co., 1931.
78 THE CURRICULUM
King, Marian. Today's ABC Book. Robert M. McBride and Co., 1929.
Read, Helen S. Social Science Readers: An Airplane Ride, An Engine's
Story, Jip and the Fireman. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928.
Music
Because of its informal organization the Kindergarten of-
fers a rich opportunity for the development of children's
musical interests. To children the chief value of musical
expression lies in its spontaneity and freedom. It is the re-
sult of a mood which, expressing itself in terms of song or
rhythmic movement, needs immediate satisfaction. Although
such an expression may often be carried over to a "music
period" with pleasure to the child, it is at the moment of its
inception that its value is at its height. It is the responsi-
bility of the teacher to plan the environment and organiza-
tion of the Kindergarten in such a way that the children
will have opportunity to express these natural musical in-
terests with satisfaction and pleasure to themselves. The
guidance given in any particular musical experience depends
essentially upon the teacher's knowledge of the needs of
the child or the children concerned. A child's urge to song
or rhythmic movement presupposes a happy, well-balanced,
emotional state.
During the first weeks of kindergarten there is no special
period set aside for music. The children's interests are
largely individual. They are getting acquainted with one
another, trying out new materials and apparatus. Their con-
tentment and pleasure find expression in their singing while
they work or play, sometimes by means of a familiar song
which the child knows, often in the form of a chant or
singing talk. For example, on the third day of kindergarten
CREATIVE ARTS 79
Joan sat on the bench near the blocks watching some chil-
dren building, and sang to herself over and over again:
4 3333 543- 5 4 3 ~
4 Hundreds of blocks everywhere, everywhere
The large room gives the children a feeling of freedom
which expresses itself in spontaneous skipping, running,
and jumping. Out of doors, the space and the apparatus
on the playground again stimulate much rhythmic play. The
teacher is always alert to these activities and their possi-
bilities for further development either immediately or later.
Children of this age enjoy doing things together. A num-
ber of our group come from the Four-Year-Old Kindergar-
ten where they have had many interesting and valuable
musical experiences both individually and as a group.
Usually it is not long before some of these children ask for
a special period for music. A small group, not more than
ten or twelve at a time, are invited to stay in the room for
a short music period after the other children go to the
playground. Sometimes these children are interested in sing-
ing, but usually activities such as running, skipping, and
galloping are more popular. At other times a group may be
especially interested in some form of dramatic play which fre-
quently is carried over from the four-year-old group. For ex-
ample, one of the groups played Santa Glaus over and over
again, some of the children sleeping while the Santas came
quietly and pretended to leave gifts for them.
The children soon realize that this "music period" is a
time when they have an opportunity to try out ideas
rhythmic, dramatic, or a combination of both. There are no
hard and fast divisions. Although it is called a "music pe-
80 THE CURRICULUM
riod" it Is not limited to music. After the children have
had this type of experience in small groups for several weeks,
the Kindergarten is divided into two groups for music. This
division is made solely for convenience and has no relation
to the children's abilities. We believe that a music period
every other day in which twenty to twenty-five children par-
ticipate actively is more valuable than a music period every
day for a group twice that size. A large group, because of
the number of children concerned, calls for increased or-
ganization, such as waiting for turns. The plan of having
a music period every other day, however, does not mean
that the children have music experience only every other
day. As is shown in this discussion many of the most valu-
able musical experiences singing, rhythmic, and with in-
struments take place at many other times, both indoors
and outdoors.
Children not only enjoy but benefit by much repetition.
A music period even though it may last twenty minutes
seldom has more than three or four types of activity. The
children's own ideas and plans usually determine the types
of activity. It is the teacher's responsibility to see that there
is variety in these activities not necessarily in a single pe-
riod, but over an extended time. In music it is always essen-
tial to keep a balance between activity and rest. Encourage-
ment is given to activities exercising parts of the body which
are less frequently used. For example, specialists in physical
growth tell us that children stop crawling too soon, and so
we encourage any game or play which will emphasize this
form of activity.
For the purpose of discussion only we shall consider chil-
dren's musical experiences under the following divisions:
CREATIVE ARTS 8l
1. Experiences in rhythmic movement.
2. Singing experiences.
3. Experiences with musical instruments.
Although these experiences may occur singly, one experi-
ence may and very often does include one or both of the
others. For example, a rhythmic experience may be accom-
panied by both singing and an instrument, as in the case
of a child walking around the playground singing to him-
self, "Let's go walking," and playing the tom-tom at the
same time.
Experiences in Rhythmic Movement
Movement is the first normal fundamental reaction to any
experience. When this movement tends to repeat itself we
have rhythmic movement. Five-year-old children are very
active and enjoy activity for its own sake. It has already been
said that space, certain types of equipment, and a flexible
organization are conducive to rhythmic play. Satisfaction
and pleasure come to the children because of the release of
physical and emotional energy in this type of activity. The
development of muscular co-ordination and the all-round
physical development which are definite outcomes of this
play are of unquestioned value. Not only during the music
period but throughout the entire morning it is the responsi-
bility of the teacher to maintain a balance between vigorous
rhythmic activity and rest. The rest may take the form of a
change to a quieter activity; frequently the children rest by
sitting quietly in their chairs or lying down on the floor for a
few minutes.
In developing children's interests in music we look first
for spontaneous expressions in their self-initiated play.
$2 THE CURRICULUM
These, as was noted above, usually occur during the general
activity period indoors and outdoors. The teacher may feel
it wise to leave many of these expressions unemphasized. At
other times she may contribute to the play by moving a
piece of equipment so that the child will have more room;
again she may actually participate by enjoying the activity
with the child, or by adding an accompaniment in the form
of rhythmic word patterns, such as skipping, skipping
J S J S* or ky us i n g a s n g> the rhythm of which fits the
child's activity, or by a drum accompaniment. We believe
that in the case of young children music should at first re-
spond to the child's own rhythm rather than set a pattern
for him to respond to. In her accompaniment the teacher
catches the rhythm of the child. For example, she may say,
"I shall listen to your feet and make the drum sound as
your feet sound when you go running/' In the drum, the
rhythmic element of music is isolated. It is simple for both
children and teacher to use; it can be carried around and
used outdoors as well as indoors. Later the piano also is
used as an accompaniment for the children's rhythmic play.
Care is always taken, however, that it does not dominate the
situation, but instead, supplements the children's activity.
Simple, clear, well-accented music is used. The piano is an
important piece of equipment but it is possible to have
many valuable experiences in music without it.
The children are encouraged to try out their ideas in rhyth-
mic form. For instance, if a child has a dance and wishes
music for it the teacher suggests that he show her his dance
and then she will know what kind of music to play for him.
A rhythmic experience of this sort may have definite value
for the whole group. Another may have little value except
CREATIVE ARTS 8g
to the child who initiated it, but may contribute largely to
that child's development of confidence in his own ability. *
There is still another type of rhythmic movement which
is closely tied up with dramatic play; for example, playing
boat, train, airplane, fire engine, automobile, different kinds
of animals, or fairies. One day Jane sang the familiar folk
tune, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat/' She wanted to play
boat and asked her friend to play with her. The two chil-
dren started off in the traditional fashion by sitting on the
floor opposite each other holding hands and moving back-
wards and forwards. Opportunity was given to the other
children to play boat. Some of them played in the same
way as Jane and her friend, but the majority had different
ideas. Some sat on the floor, feet straight out in front, and
pushed themselves around by their hands; others moved
along on all fours; others used their arms for oars. These
children used their bodies in a variety of ways to express
their ideas. There were tugboats, ferries, freighters, the
"Queen Mary/' the "Normandie," motor boats, and so on.
The boat play went on for several weeks. It was made
more significant to the children by the development of con-
tent. "What does a freight boat carry?" "Where does it load
and unload?" "When does it blow its whistle?" and so on.
The children constantly added to their information about
boats and spent much time discussing them with one an-
other. Because this dramatic play was the result of the chil-
dren's own development through much repetition and
gradual growth, few disturbances occurred even though as
many as twenty-five children participated at one time.
It was impossible to find music which would express this
boat play, and no musical accompaniment was used. To
84 THE CURRICULUM
have significance, music must express the mood and rhythmic
character of the activity, otherwise the result is meaningless
association of music with activity.
Singing Experiences
Singing is and should be an expression of children's satis-
faction, happiness, and contentment. Children sing while
they are working and playing. At times the song is merely a
hum; again it is a phrase of singing talk or chant; at another
time it may be a favorite song. Attractive songbooks stimu-
late children's interest in singing. They soon learn to know
the pages where their favorite songs are found. Time and
again we see a child sit down with a songbook and sing.
Sometimes several of them sing together or they may ask
the teacher to sing to them. French and German songbooks
are always in demand. The children are interested in the
sound of foreign words and ask for them to be sung over
and over "Sing it in French"; "Now sing it in English/ 1
Since these songs are usually folk songs with easy melodies
and repetition of words and phrases the children frequently
join in and sing the part they know.
Children of this age like to sing alone but they also enjoy
singing together. The shy child who is reluctant to sing
alone will often sing in a group. The children have much
opportunity for informal singing in small groups. Singing
is often a part of the regular music period but it frequently
occurs before or after a story, while the children are wait-
ing for lunch, after rest, or at the end of the morning just
before it is time to go home. Sometimes the melody is played
on the piano, but most of the singing is done without the
piano. We do not want the children to feel that it is neces-
SMALL MUSICIANS EXPERIMENT WITH THE SWISS
BELLS
COOPERATIVE HOUSEKEEPING LAUNDRY WORK IS A FASCINATING
OCCUPATION FOR FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN
PUTTING THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON THE NEW HOUSE
EASEL PAINTING GIVES OPPORTUNITIES FOR DOING LARGE FREE WORK
CREATIVE ARTS 85
sary to have a piano in order to sing, as this would limit
their opportunities for singing. When the children sing to-
gether the teacher usually sings with. them to make sure that
the children hear the Song sung simply and accurately. Folk
songs, because o their simplicity, their form, their rhythmic
quality, and their musical value, are always very popular.
Some of the favorites are "Row, Row, Row Your Boat,"
"Lightly Row," "My Bonnie," "Trot, Trot, Trot," "Cuckoo,"
"All the Birds Have Come Again," "Rockabye Baby," "Sleep,
Baby, Sleep." Another group of songs which children enjoy
especially because of their content have to do with their in-
terests and activities. Some of these are "Early in the Morn-
ing," "The Ferry Boat," and "Big Tall Indian." The tra-
ditional nursery and folk songs are always enjoyed. 1
Children's home environment plays a large part in their
interest in singing. Songs sung by older brothers and sisters
and by parents frequently make a definite appeal to young
children. The content in this type of song is seldom within
the child's range of interest, but the song appeals because
of its form, rhythm, and popularity. Some of these songs
which the children enjoy are "Home on the Range," "Swanee
River," "Adeste Fidelis," "O Susanna," and "Glory, Glory
Hallelujah."
x Tljese songs may be found in:
Coleman, Satis N. and Thorn, Alice G. Singing Time. John Day Co.,
New York, 1929.
Graham, Mary N. and Scott, Janet L. Fifty Songs for Boys and Girls. Whit-
man Publishing Co., Racine, Wisconsin, 1935.
Hader, Berta and Elmer. Picture Book of Mother Goose. Coward-Mc-
Cann, New York, 1928.
Potter, Edna. This Way and That. Oxford University Press, New York,
193*
Rontgen, J. Old Dutch Nursery Rhymes. Translated by Rosie Elkins.
David McKay, Philadelphia, 1917.
86 THE CURRICULUM
Children make up many songs. Usually these songs have
little intrinsic musical value, but they have decided value
to the child who sings them because they represent an ex-
pression by him of a feeling or mood. They are accepted as
such and no attempt is made to repeat or use them later.
Their charm is in their simplicity, spontaneity, and freshness.
Jean's Song
54 32
Happy Birthday
43 21
Happy Birthday
53 21 * 3
Happy Birthday to George.
George's Song
5 8 88 777 6 -
The airplanes go up in the air
6 555 5 -
And down on the ground;
5 8 88 777 6 --
The airplanes go up in the air
6 555 55
And down in the water.
Many children who come to kindergarten cannot carry a
melody or match a tone. This does not mean that they are
monotones (as mothers so often tell us) ; it simply means
that they have not learned to use their voices. Frequently a
child who sings in a monotonous fashion has a speaking
voice which lacks a normal amount of inflection. Much can
be done to improve both speaking and singing; for example,
encouraging the children in spontaneous play which brings
into use imitation of boat whistles, train whistles, bells, fire
sirens, animal calls, and so on, or in tone-matching games.
Anything which makes children more conscious of pitch is
CREATIVE ARTS 87
beneficial. Although we constantly try to help children in
the use of their voices our first consideration is that they
shall want to sing. Techniques which might benefit them
but which would make them conscious of their difficulties
to the extent of taking away their desire to sing must wait
until they are older.
Experience with Instruments
Some of our most valuable musical experiences come in
the use of instruments. The Kindergarten has a carefully
selected group of instruments, such as piano, drums (In-
dian and African tom-toms) , set of Swiss bells, marimba,
xylophone, tambourine, triangles. Most of these instruments
are used individually since we believe that there is more
musical value to the child in individual experimentation
than in using a group of instruments together. Plans are
made for the children to use the instruments in suitable
places and at times when they can really experiment and
get some musical satisfaction. The individual use of a num-
ber of instruments at the same time or the use of instru-
ments in a room where there is noisy activity, such as ham-
mering and sawing, makes for a situation where the child's
experience with an instrument not only will be of no musi-
cal value but will definitely be confusing and frequently
uncontrolled. Sometimes later in the year after the children
have used the instruments individually they may enjoy play-
ing several of them together, such as a group of drums or
drums with tambourines or triangles. This is definitely a
group experience. The teacher may accompany with the
piano. One child may be given an opportunity to play
his drum, while the other children and the teacher follow his
88 THE CURRICULUM
rhythmic pattern. Or the teacher may use a selection on the
piano and have the children accompany it. The organization
of a large rhythm band is beyond the ability of children of
this age; it would of necessity be controlled by the teacher
and is therefore not a suitable activity for kindergarten.
The children sometimes make simple instruments, such
as cereal-box drums or drum boards.
The Kindergarten has a phonograph and a large number
of carefully selected records including songs, rhythms, music
which suggests dramatic experiences, and music which sug-
gests listening or quiet. Being portable, the phonograph is
taken from room to room and is used outdoors.
The children enjoy hearing other people sing or play
various instruments. One mother may bring in a violin and
play for the children; another a cello. Occasionally a mem-
ber of the music department comes and plays a flute or a
French horn or a harp or some other instrument. Whenever
it is possible the children are given a chance to try the in-
strument, for example, playing the harp strings. One of our
most interesting experiences was when one child's mother
took the children (a few at a time) into the College Chapel
to see and hear the organ. Each one had a chance to sit on
the bench, pull out stops, and play a few notes.
Desired Outcomes
In the work with music in the Kindergarten the follow-
ing objectives are constantly kept in mind:
Recognition of rhythmic movement itself as a creative
medium.
Physical and emotional development which comes through
increasing ability to use the body as a means of expression.
CREATIVE ARTS 89
Growing ability of children to express themselves through
singing, rhythmic movement, and use of instruments.
Growing knowledge and appreciation of good music.
Growing security and poise which come through musical
experiences.
Thoughtful experimentation with instruments and its ac-
companying musical values.
Enjoyment of music.
A repertoire of simple songs.
Growth in social relationships.
Bibliography
The bibliography which follows includes a few of the
books which are helpful in the selection of music for accom-
panying children's rhythmic and dramatic play.
Music Books
Burchenal, Elizabeth and Crampton, C. Ward. Folk-Dance Music. G.
Schirmer, Inc., New York, 1908.
Crawford, Caroline and Fogg, Elizabeth Rose. The Rhythms of Child-
hood. A. S. Barnes Co., New York, 1915.
Diller, Angela and Quaile, Elizabeth. Fourth Solo Book. G. Schirmer,
Inc., New York, 1924.
Gretchaninoff, Alexandre. First Piano Album. Schottand Co., Ltd.,
London, 1957.
Hofer, Marie Ruef. Music for the Child World, Vols. I and II. Clayton
F. Summy Co., Chicago, 1900.
Hughes, Edwin (editor) . Master Series for the Young, Vol. I (Bach) ,
Vol. II (Handel) , Vol. IV (Mozart) , Vol. V (Beethoven) , Vol. VI
(Schubert) . G. Schirmer, Inc., New York, 1919.
Oesterle, Louis (editor) . Forty Transcriptions for the Piano, Vol. I.
G. Schirmer, Inc., New York, 1911.
Rebikov, Vladimir I. Silhouettes for the Piano, Library 1474. G. Schir-
mer, Inc., New York, 1923.
Robinson, Ethel M. School Rhythms. Clayton F. Summy Co., Chicago,
1923-
go THE CURRICULUM
Waterman, Elizabeth. The A B C of Rhythmic Training. Clayton F.
Summy Co., Chicago, 1927.
Whitlock, Virginia Bennett. Come and Caper. G. Schirmer, Inc., New
York, 1932.
A Few Suggested Songbooks for Young Children
Coleman, Satis N. and Thorn, Alice G. Singing Time. The John Day
Co., New York, 1929.
Coleman, Satis N. and Thorn, Alice G. Another Singing Time. The
John Bay Co., 1937.
Davison, Archibald T. and Surette, Thomas Whitney. 140 Folk Songs.
E. C. Schirmer, Inc., Boston, 1922.
Foresman, Robert. A Child's Book of Songs. American Book Co., New
York, 1931.
Graham, Mary N. Fifty Songs for Boys and Girls. Whitman Publishing
Co., Racine, Wisconsin, 1935.
Griiger, Heribert and Johannes. The Sing Song Picture Book. ]. B.
Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1927.
Hader, Berta and Elmer. Picture Book of Mother Goose. Coward-
McCann, New York, 1928.
McConathy, Osbourne and Others. Music Hour, Book II. Silver, Burdett
and Co., New York, 1927.
Merk, Friederlike. Unser Liederbuch. B. Schott's Sohne, Mainz, Ger-
many, 1900.
Moffat, Alfred E. Our Old Nursery Rhymes. David McKay, Philadelphia,
1911.
Potter, Edna. This Way and That. Oxford University Press, New York,
Rontgen, J. Old Dutch Nursery Rhymes. Translated by Rosie Elkins.
David McKay, 1917.
Van De Velde, Ernest. Rondes et Chansons. With easy accompaniments.
Tours: Maison Mame. Paris Agency: 6 rue Madame VI.
A Few Suggested Phonograph Records Used with Children
1386 Victor. "Rondino" (Beethoven-Kreisler)
19882 Victor. "Fairies," Scherzo (Schubert)
20161 Victor. "Waltzing Doll" (Poldini)
20164 Victor. "Legend of the Bells" (Planquette)
20174 Victor. "Adeste Fidelis" (Portugal)
CREATIVE ARTS 91
20174 Victor. "Rockabye Baby" (Traditional)
20215 Victor. "Toy Symphony" (Haydn)
20440 Victor. "Minuet" (Mozart)
20401 Victor. "March" (Gurlitt)
22160 Victor. "Lullaby" (Brahms)
22168 Victor. "Soldier's March" (Schumann)
22169 Victor. "With Castanets" (Reinecke)
22171 Victor. "Norwegian Dance" (Grieg)
22765 Victor. "Les Pifferari" (Gounod)
A3 157 Columbia. Andante from "Orpheus*' (Gluck)
AS 121 Columbia. "Away in a Manger" (Luther)
DRAMATIC PLAY AND GAMES
Dramatic Play
Probably nothing is more characteristic of young children
than their interest and pleasure in "make believe." There
is constant dramatization of things heard and seen as well
as the combining and recombining of experiences in new
and original forms. Whereas the dramatic experiences of the
four-year-old are likely to be individual or to include a very
small group, the dramatic experiences of the five-year-old
are almost always social. Much of the value lies in the group
adjustments that are necessary when several children play
house, store, boat, or train together. /This type of play is a
tremendous stimulus to imagination; a prosaic, unimagina-
tive child gains something from playing with an imaginative
one. There are many opportunities for conversation, for
planning, for development of organization. Dramatic play
offers many leads for information as the children often feel
the need of more definite information before they can carry
on their play. The joy that children take in dramatic play
makes it an excellent medium for helping a shy child to for-
g2 THE CURRICULUM
get himself and to enter into a group activity. It also helps
the too aggressive child to take his place in a group.
Two types of dramatic play go on in the Kindergarten.
One type is entirely organized by the children with the
teacher in the background to guide or advise only when
necessary. In the other type, the teacher is more of a par-
ticipant and helps with the organization, though the plan is
the children's own.
An example of the first type of play might be described
thus: A group of four or five children are playing house
in the play corner. They organize the family, "cook," "serve
meals/' and carry through the routine of family life. The
teacher is a conscious onlooker; she does not step in unless
some problem of organization makes her help necessary; for
example, if the level of the play seems to need raising, or if
she is invited by the children to play as one of the group.
The following instance is an example of the second type
of play, in which the teacher takes part: A larger group of
children suggest playing bus. They have good ideas on the
subject, but chiefly because of the size of the group, the or-
ganization is somewhat beyond them. In this case the teacher
joins the group and taking the children's suggestions for
.subject matter helps them with the organization.
Sometimes the children are interested in dramatizing sto-
ries. Care is taken that the stories are simple, and the action
informal and not carried further than the interest of the
children demands. There is no playing to an audience unless
it is a very informal one composed of other children in the
group.
Materials play a great part in stimulating and contribut-
ing to dramatic play. The right kind of play furniture, toys,
CREATIVE ARTS 93
and colored cloth for "dressing up" all help in dramatic
play. We believe, however, that children should not be too
dependent on materials and should be able to play with
the simplest of properties. Such apparatus as Jungle Gym,
Climb-around, ladders, and boxes is provided primarily for
the purpose of giving the children opportunity for plenty of
physical exercise. This apparatus, however, has equal value
as a medium for dramatic play.
The desire to "dress up" is a very natural one, but the
simplest costume satisfies a kindergarten child; a small apron
and a square of colored cloth tied over the head suffice. Oc-
casionally the children blossom out into fairies, kings and
queens, even angels, but here again a crown and a pair of
wings make a fairy; a crown and a train, a king.
The conversation which takes place as the children play
is likely to be illuminating. Often children show great re-
sourcefulness. A group of children were playing store. Nancy,
who had been playing in the doll corner, came over to the
store with a basket. The recorded conversation follows:
Nancy; May I have a Christmas tree? How much is it?
Billy: Ten cents.
Nancy: 111 take two.
Billy: 'Shall I send them?
Nancy: No, thank you. I'll just take them in my basket. (Nancy takes
two wooden trees over to the doll corner. A few minutes later she
feels the need of the telephone which is being used in the store, and
returns) .
Nancy: Pardon me, but the lady in the house wants me to buy some
more things. Are you having a telephone sale?
Billy: No!
Nancy: (putting hand on telephone) I should like to buy this for
my house,
Billy: (holding telephone) No sir! I'm not selling that telephone.
Nancy: (retiring) Well, give me some cotton.
94 THE CURRICULUM
Nancy and Billy were able to make their own adjustments,
so the play continued. Another problem in adjustment arose
when Billy and Tom decided to buy all the toys from Jack's
toy shop to add to their own stock. Jack could not think
quickly enough to prevent the sale so he found himself with
an empty shop. John came over to look at Jack's shop.
John: Where is your stuff? Did you sell it all?
Jack: Yes, I want some of it back. (Goes over to toy shop.) Hey! give
me some of those things back.
Billy: No, we bought them all.
Jack: I haven't anything to sell now.
Petey, who is an adjuster of difficulties, got a basket and
filled it with toys. "Here are some toys, Jack/' he said, and
sold the toys to Jack.
Billy proved to be an excellent salesman with a great deal
of courtesy and many constructive suggestions for customers:
"This is a fine toy, it was bought downtown."
"This is a good toy for a sick child."
"I haven't a toy for a five-year-old child but 111 call up another
department."
Tom was inclined to be grumpy and was really much
more interested in arranging his wares on the counter than
in selling them. At the end of the morning Billy said, "Busi-
ness was very good today." Tom said, "Business was poor
in my store; nobody bought anything from me." The teacher
suggested that the difference might be that Billy was courte-
ous and interested in his customers and Tom was not. A
discussion of what a salesman should do and what kind of
salesman we like to find in a store followed.
In another situation the teacher was a participating mem-
ber of the group and helped in the organization through-
CREATIVE ARTS 95
out. This situation arose at Christmas time, and was really
a forerunner of the more informally organized store play
recorded above. The children wanted to play "going to
Macy's." Billy suggested taking two tables for the counter
and putting toys on them. He said he would be the store-
keeper and chose another child to help him. All the chil-
dren wanted to be salesmen.
Teacher: Some of us can be the people who are going to buy. May I
be the mother?
Children: Yes! (Chorus of "111 be a child!")
Teacher: I'll choose three children to go downtown Marilyn, Nancy,
and Bob. How can we get downtown?
Bob: In the bus.
Teacher: What could we have for a bus?
(Petey begins putting chairs in a row)
Billy: Let me be the conductor!
(All the rest wish to be the driver and this necessitates some ad-
justment)
The play then continued with the teacher and the chil-
dren stopping the bus and getting on it. The teacher had to
offer suggestions as to how the conductor would collect fares
and how he would make change. She remarked on interest-
ing things that she saw from the bus window. Then the
children began seeing "Grant's Tomb/' "Riverside Church/'
"the river." The conductor called the streets somewhat in
this order, "isoth Street, soth Street, yoth Street/' It took
practice on the part of the various conductors to get the up-
town or downtown order of the streets.
For several days the play culminated in "going to Macy's
store/' Then Bob suggested a different destination for the
bus, so from then on the bus took the children to a movie,
to a "show," to the Natural History Museum, to the George
Washington Bridge, to the Museum of Art, and to the park.
96 THE CURRICULUM
There was opportunity to talk about the things that would
be seen at various places. Traffic signals became part of the
experience as the bus frequently stopped for a red light.
Once a policeman arrested the bus driver for disregarding
a red light. This led to a discussion of the reasons why traffic
regulations must be obeyed. Much social science subject mat-
ter grew out of this experience. It was interesting to see how
the children, once they had been helped with the organiza-
tion, could carry on the play by themselves, varying the
experiences.
In the fourth month of school Bill asked during a music
period to play automobile. The teacher suggested that he
show his way of playing. He ran around the room imitating
an automobile with its motor roaring and horn blowing.
Several other children had turns to play automobile. Speed
and noise characterized their play. After all the children who
wished to do so had had a chance to play, the children and
the teacher sat down to talk about automobiles. The children
knew a good deal about automobiles and were quick to re-
late it to their play. "Automobiles blow their horns only
when coming to a crossing or to warn a pedestrian" (word
contributed by a child and much enjoyed by all). "Some
autos are taxis, some are sedans, some are trucks." "Auto-
mobiles don't start at full speed and must slow up before
they stop." "They must look out for traffic lights." "Why
can't we have traffic lights?" "Yes, Nancy could be the red
light because she has on a red dress." "Joan has a green
sweater she is the green light." Bill took the play in hand
and told Nancy and Joan where to stand to control the
traffic. The plan the children decided upon was for Nancy
to stand in the center of the floor when it was time for the
CREATIVE ARTS g>j
red light. When it was time to change lights she walked to
the side and Joan (the green light) came on. The drivers
almost to a man watched for the lights and controlled their
cars by them.
The children found much satisfaction in repeating this
automobile play. The interest was so keen that a number
of children insisted upon wearing green or red to school or
would dress themselves up with a piece of green or red cloth
at school in order to be lights. To satisfy all the applicants
several sets of "lights" were installed at different parts of the
room. On the sixth day of this play several children set up
a gas station (no properties were used, the children being
the gas tanks, etc.) and two others were traffic policemen.
Another child said ? "Why can't we have people crossing the
street?" Accordingly, pedestrians were added. Because this
play was the result of the children's own development and
organization, as many as twenty-five children could partici-
pate happily at one time. If a car passed the red light the
annoyance of the group was sufficient to remind the drivers
of the rules. This play went on for several weeks. It was
not played every day but seldom more than two or three
days elapsed before it was asked for again. One day in the
fourth week Norman sounded his horn and passed several
traffic lights. When asked to explain he said, "But, don't you
see, I'm a fire engine and I can't stop for lights." The fire
engine idea was too good for Norman to have a monopoly
on it so most of the automobiles turned into fire engines.
Confusion and hilarity resulted, and the children were asked
to sit down and talk it over. Here again the discussion and
the content added by the children and the teacher contrib-
uted to the development of the play. "Fire engines don't
98 THE CURRICULUM
keep on going around the streets all the time. They stay
in a fire engine house." "What do firemen do while they
wait for a fire?" "Where do they eat and sleep?" "They must
put on their boots and helmets before going to a fire." "They
must attach their hose." "There must be people in the burn-
ing house who go out when it burns." "They must send in
an alarm," and so on.
Opportunity was given to the children to choose which
they wanted to be firemen or people in the burning house.
Everyone wanted to be a fireman. Some of the firemen pro-
tested that there were too many firemen there must be
people in the house. But no one was willing to change. The
teacher suggested that it could be an empty house and she
would be the night watchman and send in the alarm. This
was played several times, each time some of the children
adding to their play by attaching hose, carrying axes, and
so on. The following week some of the children, feeling the
need for more form in their play, asked to be the people in
the burning house. This idea was given more meaning by
suggestions about what people do when they find their houses
on fire, what causes fires, what exits are, the need for fire
escapes, the need for self-control, and so on.
Other forms of dramatic play that almost always appeal
to children of this age include: house and family, house-
keeping, moving; doctor, hospital; fire; school; store; various
ways of traveling; zoo, farm; fairies; and Santa Glaus. In
fact a child seems to enjoy expressing in dramatic form
every experience he has had or would like to have.
Sometimes undesirable activities are dramatized and it is
necessary for the teacher to make a suggestion that will raise
the level of the play. At this age children accept many of
CREATIVE ARTS 99
the suggestions made. When a group of children built a
"war boat" and began to shoot, the teacher called a group
meeting to discuss the undesirability of such play. She
pointed out that although we do have a navy the United
States is not at present involved in any war, and the only
shooting permitted on war boats is target practice. She sug-
gested that there were other types of boats quite as interest-
ing as battleships, with the result that the children decided
to use the boat as a freighter. When the children began to
play "Indians and soldiers" there was again shooting and
rough play. A group meeting was called and present-day re-
lationships with Indians were discussed.
A great part of the dramatization that goes on in the
Kindergarten is of life situations, but the children are some-
times interested in dramatizing a story that they have heard.
In the beginning such dramatizations may be fragmentary
and of short duration. A group of children playing in the
doll corner spontaneously dramatized "The Three Bears,"
using only the part of the story in which Goldilocks sleeps
in the baby bear's bed and awakes to find the bears looking
at her. The popularity of the animated cartoon of "Three
Little Pigs" led to fragmentary play of the story, interest
centering around the part in which the three little pigs were
all in one house with the wolf demanding admittance.
Sometimes a complete story is dramatized, in a crude way,
with limited conversation and no thought of an audience.
Occasionally children who have had experience with "a
show" assemble an audience. Wooden toys, such as the char-
acters of "The Three Bears" or "Three Little Pigs," are
provided for the dramatization of some stories. These may
suggest playing to a small audience. The use of these toys
1OO THE CURRICULUM
is really the beginning of the puppet show. They are valu-
able in helping to overcome self-consciousness, for so eager
are the children to make the wooden characters play the story
that they quite forget themselves.
Desired Outcomes
Children find much enjoyment in dramatizing experiences
of all kinds. Dramatization gives opportunity for imagina-
tive and creative expression, for the growth of group or-
ganization, for language development, and for the acquiring
of valuable information. Informal dramatic play is of special
value to the shy child who forgets himself as he projects his
own personality into another character. By the end of the
year most children are able to play happily and construc-
tively in a group and to make most of their own adjustments
and their own plans.
Games
All through life, from infancy to old age, people play
games. They play them because they enjoy the fun, the physi-
cal activity, the contact with other people, the friendly ri-
valry. Children play games for the same reason.
The games that little children play should be very simple.
It was formerly thought that children of four or five should
play many traditional games and others that were quite
elaborate in form. Now we know that young children do
not enjoy the highly organized game as much as the simple
one and that games are best played in very small groups so
that the young players do not have to wait long for turns.
Children will make up their own games. Sometimes the
game has so little organization that we hardly recognize its
CREATIVE ARTS 101
form. For example, a group of children are playing out of
doors. They are climbing on a low stone wall, then jump-
ing mere physical activity. After a while one child says,
"Let's all jump at once. Don't jump till I say 'Ready'." This
is the beginning of a game. After the children have played
the game in this way for some time one child may say, "Let's
see who can jump farthest." Here an element of competition
enters in. Competition, however, is not an important factor
in little children's games. They ate really more interested in
co-operation, in developing their own skill, and in trying to
better their own record. "I jumped farther today than I did
yesterday."
Sometimes, when children organize their own games, a
suggestion from an adult will improve the play and make it
more valuable. A group of children playing out of doors
organized a game in which one child said:
"One, two, three!
Find a tree";
and all the others ran to a tree. The teacher who was with
the children suggested that the rhyme could be changed to:
"One, two, threel
Find a maple tree" (oak, elm, etc.) .
This made the game more interesting, and helped the chil-
dren to recognize the different trees.
The interest of children can often be held by repetition.
Realizing this, the teachers provide ample opportunity for
repetition of certain forms, but at the same time are ready
with new elements which will awaken further interest. The
children are quick to see this way of developing a game and
102 THE CURRICULUM
in turn often take over the responsibility of originating and
developing their own games.
When the children in the Kindergarten play any tradi-
tional game, they play it very simply at first, and gradually,
if at all, develop it into more highly organized form. The
children sometimes play "London Bridge" by running under
the upraised arms and getting caught. They do this over
and over, day after day. This may be as much of the
game as they will ever need in kindergarten. On the other
hand a group of the same age may be influenced by one or
two children who have played the game elsewhere and be-
come interested in adding other elements. In playing "Drop
the Handkerchief* the first simple form is apt to be that of
a child running around the circle and dropping the hand-
kerchief behind another child, often saying "I dropped the
handkerchief behind you now it is your turn/'
Children of all ages like to play hiding and finding games.
This interest begins when the baby learns to play "peek-a-
boo." At first a child is interested in very simple forms,
"Guess what I have in my hand," and so on. He hides himself
in the most obvious places and is likely to run out from his
hiding place to meet the seeker. Later he takes a real joy
in hiding and being found, especially if the adult who is
looking for him does not "find" him immediately.
Many other plays and games have already been mentioned,
including dramatic play and active physical play out of doors.
Five-year-old children enjoy the games listed below.
Games with Emphasis on Physical Activity. These games
include running, playing horse, racing, and playing with
balls. They may be carried on by a single child or by a group
of two or more.
CREATIVE ARTS 103
Open the Gates as High as the Sky. Two children join
hands and make a bridge. The other children stand at a
distance, although near enough to hear what the leader says.
One of the children forming the bridge gives the direction:
"Open the gates as high as the sky
Let all the king's horses come galloping by."
The children then gallop through. Occasionally the bridge
comes down and a child is caught but he is allowed to return
to the game. This may be varied by the leader saying "hop-
ping by/* "running by," "stepping by/ 1 and so on.
Follow the Leader. This is sometimes played by children
standing in a circle and following the leader in an activity
initiated by him; or the group follows the leader imitating
his activity as they go from one place to another. The leader
is changed often to give each one a turn.
Guessing and Hiding Games. One child says: "I see some-
thing green/ 1 "brown" (change color), or "I see something
round," "square," "hard," "soft," "I see something made out
of glass," "iron," "silver," and so on. These may be varied
indefinitely.
Hide and Seek. This is simple hiding and finding without
rules or running "home." "I spy" is the best form for young
children.
Hide the Thimble. A simple form of this traditional game
is hiding in an easy place some toy, as a block or a toy ani-
mal. Different children take turns in the hiding. Whoever
sees it first brings it back to the group.
Button, Button. "Button, Button" often starts with one
child putting a button in the hand of another, saying "I
gave it to you." This may be repeated many times before
104 THE CURRICULUM
any desire to hide the button is shown* When the children
become interested in the surprise part o the game, the child
who is hiding the button may go to several or all o the other
children pretending to give each the button, but leaves it
in only one child's hand. Skill in giving the button without
others seeing the transfer and the desire for surprise grow
as the game is continued.
Other games such as "Musical Chairs" and "Spin the
Ring" are played in like manner, starting with the most
simple elements or fragments of the game and gradually
developing it to the extent which is warranted by the chil-
dren's interest.
Singing Games. Among the traditional singing games
suited to young children are: "Ring-a-rosy," "Here We Go
Round the Mulberry Bush," "Little Sally Waters," "The
Farmer in the Dell," "Looby-loo," "Itiskit, Itaskit," and
"London Bridge."
VIII
MATERIALS USED IN THE KINDERGARTEN
A LIST of materials used in the Kindergarten is found in
the section on "The Environment/' A brief discussion of
some of these materials follows.
PHYSICAL APPARATUS
There is definite need for physical apparatus in the kin-
dergarten room as well as on the playground, not only be-
cause there are days when play out of doors is impossible
but especially because children need opportunity for physi-
cal exercise when they are indoors. All children need vigor-
ous physical exercise, but some need to be specifically en-
couraged and helped to use the apparatus. The general
activity period, because of its informal organization, is the
best time to give this help. Physical apparatus also offers
opportunity for change of activity. Children who have been
drawing, painting, or working with clay frequently feel the
need themselves for a change and use the apparatus. If the
children do not of their own accord feel this need for bal-
ancing their quiet play with more active exercise, the teacher
often suggests a change of work. A like change may be made
from an active type of play to a quieter one. The guidance
which the teacher gives in this situation or in any other
depends at all times upon the individual needs of the child.
105
106 THE CURRICULUM
The following pieces of apparatus are in the kindergarten
room: Jungle Gym, Hi-lo Gym, swinging rope ladders, and
walking boards. On the playground are a Climb-around, a
seesaw, several swings, walking boards, ladders, packing
boxes in several sizes, and a slide with protected sides.
MATERIALS FOR MANIPULATIVE ACTIVITIES AND
DRAMATIC PLAY
Playing with blocks goes on continuously throughout the
year. One child may play alone, two may play together, or
again a larger group may be working on some interest. At
the beginning of the year simple fragmentary building
usually satisfies the child's needs. As the year goes on more
elaborate building develops. It is interesting to watch chil-
dren working out their building plans, at one time con-
cerned with strength and utility and at another time ab-
sorbed in the proportions and decoration of the building.
The children's own interests are sufficient to suggest the
subject matter of their building, and they sometimes come
to the teacher for help in working out their plans; or the
teacher may see some place where a suggestion from her
would be valuable. For example, she may help the children
work out a better method of construction, such as putting
in windows, or building a floor, or making curves in rail-
road tracks. Or her assistance may take the form of prevent-
ing disorder and confusion by helping the children to put
away unnecessary blocks.
It is interesting to watch the development of children's
purposes in building. In the beginning of the year they may
work with the blocks for five or ten minutes at a time, and
what they build is usually planned as they build it. Before
MATERIALS 107
long, however, they use the blocks as a means of carrying
out a definite plan; their interest becomes more prolonged
and what they build more purposeful, with perhaps more
children working on the plan. Sometimes the plan holds
enough interest to keep them building for several days on
the same project. In this case the blocks are left standing
from day to day. At no time is a building left standing after
the children's active interest in it is over. We frequently
find that the buildings made with the Hill Floor Blocks
hold the children's interest, because of the realistic char-
acter of the building a house big enough for children to
get into, or a train that can carry many passengers.
Building Toys. Although children like to build with
blocks for the sake of construction, much interest and stimu-
lation are added by a carefully selected group of toys to use
with the blocks. These toys include wooden animals wild
and domestic, Standpatter and wooden dolls, wooden trees,
boats, trains, automobiles, airplanes, and trucks.
Blocks. Of all the materials that are provided for the chil-
dren, blocks seem to offer the most varied and continuous
possibilities for satisfying play. They are used constantly in
dramatic play and they offer valuable opportunities for so-
cial adjustment and physical activity. The types of blocks
provided have been discussed under "Equipment."
At the beginning of the year the Project Play Blocks are
adequate for the children's needs. A little later the Hill
Floor Blocks supply additional experiences, encourage and
supplement dramatic play, and lead to larger group inter-
ests. The types of activity growing out of the use of blocks
are so varied that they find a place in almost every part of
the curriculum.
1O8 THE CURRICULUM
When the children first begin to play with blocks they
experiment and try out all the possibilities o the material.
Blocks may be piled high on one another to make tall towers,
or laid end to end to make railroad tracks. Very soon the
play of five-year-old children has definite purpose. Among
the many things they build are farms, houses, railroad sys-
tems, docks, stores, bridges, and garages.
Picture Puzzles. Picture puzzles satisfy the child's desire to
fit things together. Those used with little children should
be of thick wood, cut into only a few parts. There are now
on the market picture puzzles with subject matter appropri-
ate to children's interests: animals, boats, fire engines, air-
planes, automobiles, and so on.
Other Materials. Among other materials which are used
in the Kindergarten are rubber stamp sets of animals, people,
words, letters, numbers, and so on; colored tiles most popu-
lar in the sand; large peg boards, and large wooden beads.
Dolls and other such types of materials which are used are
listed elsewhere (see pages 14 and 15) ,
The Sandbox. The sandbox is popular with the children
because of the possibilities that it offers for play of all kinds.
Early in the year the play is likely to be individual and
manipulative in character. Soon, however, the children or-
ganize much of their play in dramatic form, and a group
will spend a whole morning in making a farm, a river sys-
tem, or a railroad with tunnels. These activities change from
day to day. The same type of play may go on for several
days, but at no time are there formal and set representations
which remain unchanged for a long period.
As a result of the popularity of the sandbox many prob-
lems of social adjustment arise. It is a valuable medium for
MATERIALS 1OQ
learning to play together as well as a refuge for the shy child
at the beginning of the year.
In the sand play as well as in the block play new interests
are suggested by the addition from time to time of different
playthings. Care is taken to add these slowly and only when
the need is felt, as too many new toys are overstimulating
and confusing. Sometimes when new playthings are added,
old ones are taken away. At first toys are used which suggest
manipulative activity, as shovels, rakes, small cans, and
dishes. Later, toys are supplied which suggest dramatic play,
as boats, trains, trees, and animals.
Play with Water. The children always enjoy playing with
water. To offer opportunity for this play a large zinc-lined
tank is brought into the room. The children sail their boats
and use lighthouses, bridges, docks, and other toys of aquatic
type that they have been making. This actual use of water
adds a realistic touch to boat play.
MATERIALS FOR ART ACTIVITIES
Clay Modeling. Clay is art material which gives much
opportunity for originality. It may be bought ready mixed
or in powder form, and is much superior to artificial substi-
tutes which do not harden and cannot be used to make a per-
manent product. Clay can be kept moist in an earthenware
jar covered with wet cloths. Only enough for the children's
immediate use should be taken out at one time.
At first children like to manipulate the clay, rolling, pat-
ting, and pounding it, making "balls/ 1 "snakes," and "pies.'*
Indeed for some time clay products may not look like any-
thing to adult eyes. Eventually the products begin to have
definite form, the children making interesting things such
110 THE CURRICULUM
as dishes, animals, and people. Children need some definite
help in technique. They need to be shown how to smooth
the clay with their fingers, how to keep it from cracking,
how to join on handles, legs, and arms. Small children should
be permitted to join on small pieces in modeling; they do
not naturally model a person or an animal out of one piece
o clay.
When the clay products improve in form the children may
paint them with water color or poster paint. The clay, which
will dry very satisfactorily on a radiator, should not be
painted until it is quite dry. After it is painted the clay
article may be covered with a thin coating of white shellac
which gives it a finish and keeps the paint from rubbing off.
Shellac should be carefully handled as it is not easily re-
moved from clothing. A very little in a small dish can be
given to a child as he needs to use it. The shellac brush
should be kept in wood alcohol or it will harden and be-
come useless. Wood alcohol is useful for thinning shellac
and removing it from hands and clothing. In work with chil-
dren shellac and wood alcohol should be used only under
careful supervision.
Materials for clay modeling include:
Clay, a clay-board or piece of oilcloth on which to work,
poster paints, a Japanese paintbrush, a supply of white shel-
lac, a small dish in which to put the shellac for the children's
use, and a good-sized camel's-hair brush for applying the
shellac.
A few of the things children like to model in clay are
balls, beads, marbles, pies, birthday cakes with candles, bowls
and other dishes, doll dishes, animals, and people.
Drawing and Painting. Children's drawings show definite
MATERIALS 1 1 1
stages of growth. Up to about the fourth year children go
through what is known as the "scribble stage" in which the
drawings are merely indefinite scribbles. Usually a child
can name the thing he has drawn, though to the uninitiated
it may not look like the object named. Sometimes he merely
experiments with the materials. The first drawings and
paintings are often just "playing with color."
It is most important to remember that children's drawings
are a form of language. Very often a child puts on paper
ideas "that he cannot put into words and his drawing tells a
real story. Sometimes in our eagerness to have the child
draw in a more realistic fashion we impose our ideas and
techniques upon him. The result is that we do away with
much that makes the child's drawings spontaneous and they
become dull and stereotyped. It is not necessary to give little
children much instruction in drawing and painting. For ex-
ample, a point that often worries adults is the fact that in-
stead of making the sky come down to meet the horizon
children draw it at the top of the picture. This is very
natural for it is the way the sky appears to them. Older chil-
dren may be taught how to draw the sky correctly but with
younger children this technique is confusing, and their pic-
tures are more sincere i they are allowed to draw the sky
as they see it. Another characteristic of pictures made by
children is the inclusion of things which cannot be seen but
which they know are there. They picture the roots of a plant
or draw a house as if it had no front wall and one were
looking directly into it the inside of a house is usually more
interesting to them than the outside.
These are characteristics of children's drawings with which
we must not interfere. There are, however, ways in which
112 THE CURRICULUM
we can help the children to improve their pictures. It is
unwise at this age to give instruction in perspective, but
we can give some help with proportion. Children of four
or five have very little idea of comparative sizes; flowers and
people are drawn as large as houses. This is not a serious
matter, but sometimes a suggestion will help the child to
get a better idea of proportion. "Do you think the flowers
in our garden are as large as this house?" "Do you think
the man could get in the door of his house?"
Sometimes children get suggestions from looking at a pic-
ture. The picture should be simple; a picture of a rabbit may
give a suggestion for drawing a rabbit. On the whole, how-
ever, it is better for children to get ideas from observa-
tion of the real thing, to see a real rabbit (and not be urged
to draw a picture of it unless they wish to), or to notice
how the branches grow on a tree. A record of many of the
impressions they take in will later appear on paper, but
expression should never be forced.
An excellent art medium for children is poster paint, or
show-card colors. These paints may be used with large
brushes on sheets of newsprint which are fastened on an
easel. Children need some rather definite instruction in the
technique of using this material how to return each brush
to its own jar of color, how to avoid dripping the paint on
the paper, and how to keep the colors from running. They
may be shown that if they leave a little space between the
stem of the flower and the flower itself, the two colors will
not run into each other. Easel painting gives the child a
chance to use the larger arm muscles and to do large free
work, and the results are usually more interesting and satis-
factory than those obtained by painting with water colors.
MATERIALS 113
Materials for drawing and painting include:
Blackboard and dustless white or colored chalk, manila
drawing paper and colored crayons, an easel, Japanese paint-
brushes or large camel's-hair brushes, sheets of newsprint
or unprinted newspaper, and fresco or poster paints. Poster
paints, which are better but more expensive than fresco
paints, come ready-mixed. Fresco paint may be obtained in
powder form and must be mixed with water until the mix-
ture is of the consistency of thin cream. Each color should
be kept in a covered glass jar.
Sewing. Colored cloth always fascinates children. They
love to use pieces of it to dress Up in and they like to sew
in imitation of the grown-up activity that they see in the
home. They take delight in selecting colors and in making
articles which can really be used.
As sewing requires finer co-ordination than many other
activities, the teacher must use great care in regard to the
amount of time spent on it, the materials used, and the light
in which the children sit when sewing. Only the crudest re-
sults should be expected and the children should not be al-
lowed to undertake activities which call for very fine co-
ordination (such as threading needles) ; these should be
taken care of by the teacher.
In sewing we find children interested in making dresses
for dolls and the simplest of costumes for themselves. Cloth
is also a favorite medium for making presents for friends,
bags, handkerchiefs, aprons, and the like. Children are quick
to follow the fashion. When pajama suits are the style, pajama
suits are what they wish to make; when an interest in fairies
sweeps the kindergarten, fairy costumes are the thing.
Materials for sewing include an attractive sewing box or
1*4 THE CURRICULUM
basket, and a supply of large-eye embroidery needles, pins,
scissors, colored cambric, and colored half-inch tape. Col-
ored San-Silk, being strong, makes the best sewing thread.
Weaving. Weaving is a rather complicated process for chil-
dren of this age. When weaving is done in the Kindergarten,
coarse material and a warp that is not continuous are used.
Weaving is valuable chiefly because children enjoy the ac-
tivity and the product is attractive.
Materials for weaving hammock or rug: A loom may be
bought or made from wood or cardboard. Macram6 cord or
heavy string can be used for the warp set up by the teacher
and cotton roving for the woof.
Paper Cutting and Pasting. Paper is another medium
which allows for free experimentation and for delight in
color. Some children of five years who have had limited ex-
perience with scissors enjoy cutting and pasting paper. Soon,
however, the activity becomes more definite and the cutting
more purposeful. Learning to paste paper is not easy, but
the technique is readily acquired when there is a real need
for pasting. It is fun to cut paper, to draw houses and trees
and people and cut them out, or to cut them without draw-
ing. Children also enjoy "surprise cutting," that is, folding a
sheet of paper, cutting pieces out of it and then opening it
to see the design.
Colored paper is also used in making small scrapbooks or
decorative covers for books containing the children's draw-
ings for Christmas and birthday cards, Easter greetings, val-
entines, and Christmas decorations.
Crepe paper is satisfactory for making costumes, such as
trains for kings and queens and wings for fairies.
Materials for paper work should include brightly colored
MATERIALS '
sheets of construction paper, brightly colored sheets of Tra-
tone paper for decoration, silver and gold paper for cos-
tumes and Christmas tree decoration, crepe paper for cos-
tumes, manila paper for drawing and cutting, blunt-pointed
scissors, paste and paste brushes.
MATERIALS FOR WOODWORK
Wood is an invaluable material; not only can children
make most satisfying products with it, but they get good
muscular exercise through the use of the saw and the ham-
mer.
Wood. The first interest in woodwork lies largely in ham-
mering pieces of wood together and in sawing for the sake
of the activity. Children who have had experience with wood
before coming to the Five- Year-Old Kindergarten have
usually passed through this stage, and are ready to use wood
to carry out some special purpose. Gradually, as ideas become
more definite, the children's products may include:
Airplanes (at first these may be merely crossed pieces of
wood, later there is an effort to make wings, propeller,
etc.) , furniture, trains, autos, boats, wagons, bridges, tunnels,
garages, houses, birdhouses, signs, animals, and people,
Materials for Woodwork. A small workbench is desirable
for working with wood but it is not absolutely essential, as
the wood can be fastened to a table with large iron clamps
or an iron vise. The tools listed below, especially the saws,
should be "real" ones of good quality; toy tools are most
unsatisfactory.
Hammer (well balanced, adze eye #3 is good) .
Saw (a is-inch crosscut saw may be used generally but a
ripsaw is sometimes useful) .
Il6 THE CURRICULUM
Nails (flat-headed wire nails) ; the most useful sizes are
i" x 15", H/2 " x 15", i" x 16", 114 x 16", H/ 4 " x if. These
are the sizes used most often; we also find it helpful to keep
on hand a supply of large-headed tacks and upholstery nails.
Sandpaper medium. If the sandpaper is fastened around
a small block of wood it is easier to handle and lasts longer.
Brace and bits useful for boring holes; bits i", y^ 9 i/%".
Small plane.
Soft pine is the most satisfactory wood. For the sake of
convenience in handling it is found advisable to have the
wood cut in 36-inch lengths in the following proportions;
]" x i* x 36", I/," x 2" x 36", i/ 2 u x 4" x 36", itf x 6" x 36",
l/2 X 12" X 36", 1" X 1" X 36", 2" X 2" X 36".
Cylinders i/", i", 2", button molds (for wheels, etc.), and
wooden wheels, 4" in diameter, are also useful.
With wood cut in the above sizes the children can plan
their own work. It is suggestive to some extent but does not
condition them as to sizes and shapes.
The children in the Kindergarten have much opportunity
for experimenting with wood. Their products are and should
be simple and crude. Help is given, when needed, in develop-
ing necessary skills, such as how to hold a hammer, how to
start sawing, how to saw, and how to start nailing. With wood
as with other materials, economical use of the material is a
problem with which many children need help.
Sometimes the children are interested in painting their
woodwork. Poster paints followed by a coat of shellac give
a satisfactory finish.
SKILL IN WOODWORK IS USEFUL TO BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS
CLEANING UP AFTER
THE WORK PERIOD
THE RIGHT MATERIALS
ADD INTEREST TO SEW-
ING
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE IN STUDYING THE
TYPEWRITER
IX
INFORMAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE TOOL
SUBJECTS
THE tool subjects, reading, writing, and arithmetic, are not
emphasized in any formal way in the Five-Year-Old Kinder-
garten, but the teachers are always alert to use opportunities
for the development of these interests by means of both in-
dividual and group activities. The many experiences in
which the children participate supply a rich background for
the activities of the grades.
READING, WRITING, AND SPELLING
Situations which give opportunity for reading, writing,
and spelling arise in a variety of ways. Children quite often
come to the Kindergarten with interest already developed
in written and printed symbols. Some of them know how to
print their names, and seeing one child print his name may
stimulate another to learn to do the same. The children see
their names printed in large capital letters on lockers, crayon
boxes, cups, resting rugs, and clothing. They soon begin to
recognize their own names and sometimes those of other
children. As time goes on interest in reading one's name may
lead to a desire to print it.
Another situation which gives rise to an interest in printed
words is the use of signs in the school building and on the
street. The children ask what these mean and are some-
117
Il8 THE CURRICULUM
times able to recognize different signs. Some of the signs
that enter into their experience are "Up" and "Down"
(elevator), "Hot" and "Cold" (faucets), "Rest Period,"
"Keep Off the Grass," "No Parking," "Danger," "Closed to
Traffic." This is a reading experience because it is the be-
ginning of an understanding that printed words carry a
definite meaning. Play experiences give rise to need for
writing. Signs are often requested in connection with block
building. Sometimes the teacher makes the sign for the child
to use; sometimes she prints it and a child copies it. Occa-
sionally the older children use the printing press or the type-
writer to make a sign, such as TOY SHOP, GROCERY STORE,
GARAGE, NO SMOKING IN GARAGE, THIS WAY OUT, DANGER, STOP,
GO, EXIT, HORACE MANN LIBRARY, ELECTRIC SHOP, NEW YORK
CENTRAL RAILROAD. The children may request that holiday
greetings be written for them to copy, or may ask the teacher
to spell for them as they write MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY
BIRTHDAY, TO MY VALENTINE, and so on. A very real reading
experience which came out of dramatic play was the making
of newspapers for Bobby's newsstand. While the teacher
printed the content o the newspaper from dictation, the
children watched with interest and learned to hold the news-
papers right side up.
In connection with drawing there are many requests to
have "stories" printed underneath pictures. The children also
dictate letters to send to absent classmates, or invitations to
send to parents. Here they see the need for writing and
can watch an adult write. Sometimes they sign their names
to a letter or help to address the envelope.
Although the alphabet is not formally taught, an interest
in letters is sure to develop. Children like to use the colored
THE TOOL SUBJECTS lig
alphabet blocks and alphabet letters, and enjoy singing the
alphabet song, "A B c D E F G."
The books used at the library table and in the story period
give rise to many reading experiences, and pleasure in these
books helps to develop reading readiness. Children "read"
familiar books to themselves and to other children. They ask
what the words under a picture say, and where certain words
are, and repeat the last word on a page as the teacher reads,
or find it as she reads.
Later in the year, when there is a need for using the print-
ing press" (price and sign marker) , some children show a
definite interest in it. Five-year-old children often enjoy writ-
ing their names and other words on the typewriter. In the
case of individual children for whom the reading interest
persists, simple word-matching games are played. Signs such
as "orange juice," "milk/* and "crackers" may be used at
these times. Occasionally a child asks help in making "a
reading book" with pictures and sentences.
ARITHMETIC
Number and measure enter into many of the children's
play experiences and seem to constitute a spontaneous in-
terest. The terminology of measurement is constantly em-
ployed in connection with play experiences and in everyday
life, including such terms as "big," "little," "large," "small,"
"as big as," "bigger than," "thick," "thin," "narrow," "wide,"
"long," "heavy," and "light." Much of this experience in the
use of terms comes in connection with work with blocks and
wood.
Children enjoy the activity of counting, and like to count
actual things the number of children sitting at a table, the
120 THE CURRICULUM
number of children participating in an activity. They also
enjoy "counting out rhymes" and counting for the sake of
counting. The printing press, the typewriter, and numerals
made of wood give the children number experience. They
begin to recognize the different numerals when they see
them. They are definitely Interested in simple number com-
binations. Before the end of the year many of them know
all the combinations up to ten. Their number experiences
often come out of play situations, but they also show interest
in numbers for their own sake.
Measuring experiences come in connection with wood-
work, sewing, block building, and so on. Usually this is a
matter of comparative measurement, the legs for a table, for
example, being measured by the first leg made. Rulers are
available and occasionally a child is interested in using one.
Once a month the children are weighed and measured, and
many of them are interested in their height and weight rec-
ords. When there is a store interest, scales are sometimes
used in a play way, as is also the cash register.
In playing store the children sometimes make toy money.
They need help with prices, as their ideas about values are
vague. Experience with actual money comes when the chil-
dren bring money to school for the Red Cross, or the Man-
hattanville Nursery, or when they are taken to the store to
buy cream for making butter, or vegetables for cooking.
Interest in time almost always arises. The clock attracts
attention and arouses in some of the children a desire to
learn how to tell time. Usually they learn only the hours,
or perhaps the half hours. They enjoy playing with a wooden
clock puzzle and a toy wooden clock with movable hands.
Some children make play clocks for themselves. Another time
THE TOOL SUBJECTS 121
interest is in the calendar. Children like to point out numbers
on a large calendar, and to find birthday and holiday dates.
DESIRED OUTCOMES
Although the children in the Kindergarten display a vary-
ing interest in reading, writing, and arithmetic, all of them
receive some experience with these tool subjects during the
year, and all are exposed to a variety of opportunities for
experience.
Most children at the end of the year can count to ten,
many beyond. Some of the older children know the simpler
number combinations and have acquired a few definite visual
and auditory number concepts. Most of them can read and
print their names, and can recognize letter forms. A few can
read and print a number of words. All have developed real
interest in these tool subjects.
PART III
THE HOME AND THE SCHOOL
X
HOME AND SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS
RECORDS
Two of the most important types of records to be kept by
the kindergarten teacher are those showing the development
of the individual children and those showing the activities
and experiences of the whole group. These records are valua-
ble for several reasons.
The Individual Record
The teacher who keeps a record of each child must give
definite, intensive, and continuous thought to each child's
individual development and special needs. The picture pre-
sented of the child's progressive development in the Kinder-
garten is useful at the time to the parent and the teacher
and later to the first grade teacher to whom these records
are sent. (See form on pages 137 to 143.)
The Record of Experiences and Activities
These records serve as a check on current experiences and
provide a basis of group experiences and activities for plans
for further work. The teachers meet at least once a week to
record and evaluate activities and make tentative plans.
These records are kept in card file form, and from year to
125
THE HOME AND THE SCHOOL
year emphasize different phases of the experiences in the
Kindergarten.
The Record of the Child's Physical Condition
Each child is given a thorough physical examination in
the school medical office at the beginning of the year. The
mother is present and is advised of any special needs. No
treatments are given at school except in emergencies. Each
parent fills out a health record blank. Both of these records
are kept on file in the office.
The Record of the Psychological Testing
Each child is given an individual intelligence test at some
time during the year. These individual tests are adminis-
tered by a trained psychologist and are given only after the
child is fully established in his school relationships. No child
is tested until his full co-operation has been gained. These
records are kept on file in the psychologist's office and, as in
the case of the health records, are always available for the
teacher's use.
At the end of the year the teacher writes a personality
study of each child, which is kept on file in the school office.
No formal report is sent home, but the individual records
of the child are always available to his parents. These records,
which have to do with the child's development, needs, and
special interests, form the basis of discussion with his parents.
We also ask the father and mother of each child to answer
as fully as they can the questionnaire on pages 135 and 136. It
gives a picture of the child's home background and often
helps in meeting certain phases of behavior which otherwise
we should not understand.
RELATIONSHIPS
127
CO-OPERATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND TEACHERS
We are coming more and more to believe in the "twenty-
four-hour day" for which parents and teachers must work to-
gether if the child's development is to be continuous and
his training logical. This necessitates the closest co-operation
between parents and teachers with provision for frequent
conferences.
Before the fall term begins the teachers arrange to meet
the children and their mothers for individual conferences
in the kindergarten room. This plan gives the children an
opportunity to get acquainted with the room and the teach-
ers, and also makes it possible for the mother to ask ques-
tions and to speak to the teacher concerning any particular
matter which she thinks the teacher should know before the
child starts in school.
At these conferences parents and teachers plan very care-
fully to bring about the most comfortable adjustment for
each child. One child may be allowed to go home early for
a few days or come to school an hour late throughout the
term; the mother of a shy child may stay in the kindergarten
room for a few days until the child begins to feel more at
home.
After the Kindergarten has been in session several weeks
and the teachers begin to know the children, an individual
conference is arranged with each mother. At this conference
the mother and the teacher sit down together and talk most
informally about the child. The teacher thus gains a better
understanding of the child in his home life and the parent
and the teacher become better acquainted, which is most im-
portant. Other conferences of this type are arranged when-
128 THE HOME AND THE SCHOOL
ever necessary, at the suggestion of either the mother or the
teacher.
All during the year fathers and mothers are most welcome
visitors in the Kindergarten. The mothers visit frequently
and often spend the entire morning. Since many of the
fathers bring the children in the morning they, too, keep
in close touch with what is going on. On Lincoln's Birthday,
which is not a school holiday, the fathers are invited to come
and spend the day while the school work goes on as usual.
From time to time during the year the mothers are in-
vited to come to the kindergarten room for an afternoon
meeting. This meeting serves two purposes: It gives the
mothers an opportunity to meet one another and it enables
the parents and the teachers to discuss together the various
phases of the kindergarten program. One of the most in-
teresting topics for discussion is the actual work of the Kin-
dergarten, including its organization and activities. Other
topics deal with use of materials, children's interests, de-
velopment of social relationships in the Kindergarten, plan-
ning for health and physical development, avoidance of
overstimulation, and necessity for simple routine, simple
festivals, and simple entertainments. Occasionally a specialist
in a field pertaining to child care and guidance is asked
to talk to the mothers. At another time an artist may talk
about art experiences in the lives of both children and
adults, and guide the mothers in the use of the kindergarten
art materials.
Several times during the year the fathers and mothers are
invited to attend evening meetings held under the joint
auspices of the Horace Mann School and the Parents* Asso-
ciation. At these meetings the various activities and poli-
RELATIONSHIPS 12Q
cies of the school are discussed. The school recognizes that
the home is the first and most potent factor in the education
of the child and that the school is only one contributing
factor. The school in seeking the guidance of the parents
when anticipating changes or making modifications in its
educational program has developed a feeling of co-operation
and mutual confidence between those who in home and in
school have the responsibility of educating children.
XI
USING THE SPECIFIC SITUATION
IN THE foregoing chapters we have tried to tell about our
plan for teaching five-year-old children in the Horace Mann
Kindergarten. Two fundamental factors have entered into
our planning: first, our philosophy of education; second, our
environment. The first is based upon what we believe, in
the light of experience and scientific research, will give op-
portunity for the best all-round development of children.
The second has to do with our specific situation. Our philoso-
phy, we believe, holds general significance, but even the
most casual reader of this book will realize that this curricu-
lum is based not only upon this philosophy but upon the
particular environment of the Horace Mann Kindergarten
in New York City.
The subject matter of the Kindergarten is suited to our
own environment. In a rural environment much of the sub-
ject matter would naturally grow out of that particular situa-
tion. For example, in New York City one of the children's
greatest interests is in boats, whereas in a rural inland dis-
trict the grain elevator may be of unusual interest. New York
City is surrounded by water and the children have many
opportunities for seeing boats, but their actual experience
in the kindergarten of playing with boats in water is limited
to the use of a water tank. Children in the country, if in-
130
THE SPECIFIC SITUATION
terested in boats, could have a much more vital experience
in the brook back of the schoolhouse. Again, whereas the
children in the Five-Year-Old Kindergarten gain an idea of
machinery through a visit to the engine room, the children
in a rural school can watch a threshing machine. Or, further,
a Jungle Gym is only a substitute for real trees and no
teacher in an environment which offers low trees and fences
to climb would think of providing a Jungle Gym for the
children's use.
Certain types of dramatic play, such as playing house, are
to be found in any kindergarten, but it would be as artificial
to dramatize putting out an apartment house fire in the coun-
try as it would be to dramatize riding in a haywagon in a
city kindergarten. A curriculum, of course, must have vision
and take the children as far as their, interests honestly carry
them. But a curriculum that tries to haul in subject matter
which has nothing whatever to do with the children's in-
terests is artificial, confusing, and without educational value.
This book is valuable only in so far as we have tried to
show how we have used our environment how we have
made adjustments and adaptations. Each environment has its
own possibilities and its own limitations; therefore each
teacher must work out her plans in the light of these. Each
environment must of necessity determine in large part its
own curriculum.
APPENDIX
RECORDS USED IN THE KINDERGARTEN
AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
RECORDS USED IN THE KINDERGARTEN
HORACE MANN SCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN
PERSONALITY RECORD
The following record form is the one filled in by parent and teacher
together at the first interview.
Name
Date of birth
Place of birth
Address
Telephone
Number of children in family and ages
Child eldest, youngest, middle
Father's name
Father's occupation
Father's birthplace
Mother's name
Mother's occupation or special interest
Mother's birthplace
Number of adults in family
What church attended
Other schools child has attended
General health of child
Any outstanding difficulty
Has he regular sleeping habits?
Has he any food difficulties?
135
136 APPENDIX
SOCIAL BACKGROUND
With whom does child spend greater part of time?
Adults (father, mother, grandparent, nurse, or governess)
Children (older or younger)
How much time spent outdoors?
%/ What toys preferred? *- - S-f * ** ~ < * '>' " * J
Does he play independently or need to be entertained?
How many places has child visited or lived in?
How much experience in taking care of himself?
Special abilities or interests (e.g., music, literature, making things,
imaginative play, investigation)
EMOTIONAL BACKGROUND
J Does child seem happy and well balanced?
Has he any fears?
v'Has he any nervous habits?
Has he any behavior difficulties?
e.g., temper tantrums
lack of self-control
attention getting
feeling of inferiority
evidences of negativism
destructive tendencies
RECORDS
137
HORACE MANN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
RECORD OF DEVELOPMENT*
1936-193?
Experimental Edition
For Kindergartens and Grades I and II
Name
Age (as of October ist)
yrs. mos. days
Date of Birth
year month day
Grade
Teacher
Note to Parents
This report represents an attempt to record and analyze the signifi-
cant aspects of a child's development and progress in school in such
a way as to form a basis for discussion in conferences between his
teacher and his parents. The comments and suggestions offered by the
parents in these conferences are also recorded as an important contri-
bution to the record.
The same form of record is used for all children from the Four-
Year-Old Kindergarten through the Second Grade, although the aspects
of development and subject matter embodied in it receive emphasis
appropriate to the maturity and grade level of the child concerned.
Each child is judged in his school progress according to the stand-
ards for his grade. The standard for a particular grade is the achieve-
ment which may reasonably be expected from the majority of children
* This form is made up on large sheets of paper fastened together in book
form so that the teacher can keep a continuous record of the child's develop-
ment. Ruled spaces are provided for a series of dated entries.
Ig8 APPENDIX
of this grade. Grade standards are determined partly by scientific meas-
urement and partly by teacher judgment based on years of experience
with children.
It is quite possible that a child may show development far beyond
his grade standard in certain subjects and fall below his grade level
in other phases of his school work. It is also possible that a child may
show distinct progress in every phase of development (progress satis-
factory for "him, in view of the circumstances of his particular case)
and yet fall below the achievement expected for his grade.
Since the same form of record is used for all children from the Four-
Year-Old Kindergarten through the Second Grade, it is obvious that
not all aspects included in this report are of equal importance in every
grade that some aspects of development should and do receive greater
emphasis in one grade than in another.
(Space for Record)
I. PHYSICAL
As evidenced by:
1. Attendance
2. Fitness (general physical condition)
3. Muscular co-ordination
4. Health habits
5. Tension or relaxation
6. Defects or nervous habits
II. EMOTIONAL
i. Stability as evidenced by:
a. Contentment
b. Cheerfulness
c Not being unduly affected by unusual events
a. Instability as evidenced by:
a. Indifference
b. Apprehension
c. Over-sensitivity
d. Over-excitability
e. Violent emotional display
III. SOCIAL
i. Personal responsibility as evidenced by regard
for:
RECORDS jog
(Space for Record)
a. Health
6. Safety
c. Possessions
2. Adjustment as evidenced by:
a. Awareness of classroom organization
b. Willingness to conform to regulations
c. Ability to conform
3. Co-operation
a. Wholehearted
b. With willingness
c. With reluctance
d. Under pressure
e. Not at all
4. Social initiative as evidenced by:
a. Intellectual contributions
(1) Suggesting plan of action
(2) Offering information
b. Pleasant personal relationships
(1) Sympathy
(2) Tolerance
(3) Tac *
(4) Generosity
(5) Kindness
c. Influence on others
IV. MENTAL
1. Alertness
2. Concentration
3. Reliable thinking
4. Creative thinking
V. READING
1. Awareness of and interest in reading symbols
2. Interest in learning to read
3. Ability to read under guidance:
a. Pre-primer material
6. Primer material
c. First grade material
140 APPENDIX
(Space for Record)
d. Second grade material
e. Material in advance of second grade
4. Ability to read independently:
a. Pre-primer material
b. Primer material
c. First grade material
d. Second grade material
e. Material in advance of second grade
5* Interest in reading voluntarily at school:
a. Great
b. Little
c. None whatever
6. Interest in reading voluntarily at home:
a. Great
6. Little
c. None whatever
7. Ability to read any material within his experi-
ence to interpret
VI, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
1. Evidence of a background of meaningful expe-
riences
2. Interest in expressing ideas clearly and fluently
3. Ability to use language creatively
4. Ability to speak in a pleasing voice
5. Evidence of an acquaintance with and an en-
joyment of many kinds of literature
VII. ARITHMETIC
1. Interest and participation in mathematical ex-
periences
2. Evidence of knowledge and use of the meaning
of mathematical terms
3. Evidence of a knowledge of the correct use of
terms and measures in appropriate situations
4. Ability to count
5. Ability to read numbers
6. Knowledge of number combinations
RECORDS
s (Space for Record)
7. Ability to analyze simple problem situations,
even though he cannot handle the arithmetical
calculations involved
VIII. WRITING
i. A growing interest in learning to write
st. Difficulty in learning to write (what difficulty?)
3. Ability to write with sufficient ease to meet the
standard of his group
4. Unusual ability
IX. SPELLING
1. A growing interest in learning to spell
2. Difficulty in learning to spell (what difficulty?)
3. Ability to spell with sufficient ease to meet the
standard of his group
4. Unusual ability
X. SCIENCE
1. Evidence of a background of meaningful ex-
periences
2. Interest in science experiences
3. Participation in science experiences in the room
as evidenced by:
a. Bringing materials to school
b. Asking questions
c. Offering information
d. Knowing where to get information
4. Unusual interest
5. Application of science knowledge to other ac-
tivities
XI. Music
i. Evidence of a background of meaningful ex-
periences
3. Interest in music as evidenced y:
0. Listening
b. Experimenting with sound
c r Singing
142 APPENDIX
(Space for Record)
d. Rhythmic activity
3. A growing ability to express himself musically
through:
a. Singing
b. Rhythmic activity, etc.
4. Unusual skill in the use of music as evidenced
by:
a. Singing
b. Use of instruments
5. Use of music in a creative way as evidenced by:
a. Adapting music to his own use:
(1) Creating melodies
(2) Originating dances, etc.
XII. DRAMATIC ARTS
1. Evidence of a background of meaningful ex-
periences
2. Interest in expressing ideas through this me-
dium
3. An increasing power to express ideas as evi-
denced by:
a. Ability to plan
b. Ability to carry out a plan alone, or with
the group
c. Ability to identify self with the role
d. Awareness of good dramatic form
4. Unusual ability
XIII. FINE ARTS
i. Evidence of a background of meaningful ex-
periences
a. Interest in expressing ideas through this me-
dium
3. A variety of ideas to express
4. A growing power in the control of art materials
5. An increasing power to express ideas when
working alone, or with the group
RECORDS
143
(Space for Record)
6. Awareness of art factors (color, rhythm, compo-
sition) as evidenced by:
a. Use
b. Comment
c. Appreciation
7. Unusual ability
XIV. INDUSTRIAL ARTS
1. Evidence of a background of meaningful expe-
riences
2. Interest in expressing ideas through this me-
dium
3. A variety of ideas to express
4. A growing power in the control of industrial
arts materials
5. An increasing power to express ideas when
working alone, or with the group
6. Awareness of good industrial arts principles as
evidenced by:
a. Appropriateness of material used to carry out
ideas
b. Usability of products
7. Unusual ability
XV. BLOCK BUILDING, SAND, ETC.
1. Evidence of a background of meaningful expe-
riences
2. Interest in expressing ideas through this me-
dium
3. A growing power in the control of these ma*
terials
4. An increasing power to express ideas when
working alone, or with the group
5. Awareness of the principles of construction
6. Unusual ability
XVI. PARENTS' COMMENT
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Andrus, Ruth and Others. Curriculum Guides. John Day Co., New
York, 1936.
Bain, Winifred E. Parents Look at Modern Education. D. Apple ton-
Century Co., New York, 1935.
Bulletin of the Association for Childhood Education. Music and the
Young Child. Association for Childhood Education, Washington,
D. C., 1936.
California State Curriculum Commission. Teachers' Guide to Child
Development. Sacramento, Calif., 1936.
Cameron, Hector C, The Nervous Child. Oxford University Press, New
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Coleman, Satis N. Creative Music for Children. G. P. Putnam's Sons,
New York, 1922,
Coleman, Satis N. Creative Music in the Home. Chautauqua Trade
Products, Valparaiso, Ind., 1928.
Coleman, Satis N. The Drum Book. John Day Co., 1931.
Counts, George S. The American Road to Culture. John Day Co.,
1932*
Cunningham, Bess V. Family Behavior. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia,
1936.
Dalgliesh, Alice. First Experiences with Literature. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York, 1932.
de Schweinitz, Karl. Growing Up. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1935.
Dewey, John. Human Nature and Conduct. Henry Holt and Co., New
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Educational Policies Commission, The. The Unique Function of Edu-
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 145
Fediaevsky, Vera and Hill, Patty Smith. Nursery School and Parent
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Garrison, Charlotte G. Permanent Play Materials for Young Children..
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926.
Garrison, Charlotte G. Science Experiences for Little Children. Charles
Scribner's Sons. 1938.
Gesell, Arnold L. Mental Growth of the Preschool Child. The Mac-
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Glover, Katherine and Dewey, Evelyn. Children of the New Day, D.
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Goodspeed, Helen C. and Johnson, Emma. Care and Training of Chil-
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Johnson, Harriet M. School Begins at Two. New Republic, New York,
Kilpatrick, William H. Education for a Changing Civilization. The
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Kilpatrick, William H. Remaking the Curriculum. Newson & Co., Chi-
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Langdon, Grace. Home Guidance for Young Children. John Day Co.,
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Mathias, Margaret E. Beginnings of Art in the Public School Charles
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National Society for the Study of Education. Twenty-Eighth Year
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Co., Bloomington, 111., 1929.
Reed, Mary M. and Wright, Lula E. Beginnings of the Social Sciences.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1932.
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Russell, Bertrand. Education and the Good Life. Boni and Liveright,
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14$ APPENDIX
Thorn, Alice G. Music for Young Children. Charles Scribner's Sons,
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1 26 260
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